Battle droids, also known as combat droids, clankers, droid soldiers, or battle bots, were a type of droid designed for combat. Over the years, many different models of battle droid were being utilized by various factions throughout the galaxy. One such faction was the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which used a number of different models of battle droid during the Clone Wars to make up the Separatist Droid Army. Under the command of General Grievous, varying models of battle droids fought against the Galactic Republic‘s clone troopers until the final days of the war, when the Confederate battle droids were deactivated by the Galactic Empire.

During the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems used a variety of battle droids in their droid army. These droids, including B1-series battle droids, which were the main infantry of the Separatists, B2-series super battle droids, and droidekas, were produced in large factories on planets such as Geonosis. The Separatist Droid Army was lead by the Kaleesh cyborg General Grievous. Droids like the B1 battle droid were ineffective in small numbers, but they had the ability to overwhelm enemies in large groups. Battle droids were led by commanders such as Grievous or Asajj Ventress, and organic officers could be assisted by specialized OOM command battle droids. T-series tactical droids and super tactical droids also commanded battle droids throughout the Clone Wars, and these units could assist organic leaders. One super tactical droid was Kalani, a general who led Confederate forces against insurgents on Onderon, but, after the Onderonian Civil War, Kalani escaped to Agamar.

The main enemy of the battle droids were the clone troopers of the Galactic Republic. The troopers were able to think independently and creatively, while battle droids like the B1 were «dim-witted» and easily taken down by clones. However, the battle droids of the Separatists outnumbered the clones, and Count Dooku once claimed that clones were outnumbered one hundred to one. During the war, clone troopers, and even some of the Jedi, referred to battle droids by the nickname of «clankers.»

The Chiss Ascendancy came to learn of the Clone Wars and that battle droids made up the majority of the Confederacy military; when Senior Captain Mitth’raw’nuruodo «Thrawn» recounted that information to sky-walker Che’ri, she questioned the tactical advantage of such a military, understanding that an enemy had the chance to deactivate droids upon accessing their controls and that their programming could be altered during an enemy incursion into a factory. Thrawn also noted that their intended programming may possess exploitable weaknesses, concluding that a desire to lessen deaths was useless if it resulted in losing the war.