This design replaced earlier concepts that depicted the Gungan vessel as an organic-looking diving bell. This assembly was then merged with the design for a manta-shaped underwater transport written out of an earlier draft of the story. Industrial Light & Magic's Doug Chiang devised the submarine's squid-like propeller design. Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Ewan McGregor), Qui-Gon Jinn ( Liam Neeson), and Jar Jar Binks ( Ahmed Best) use a bongo to travel from the underwater city of Otah Gunga to the Naboo capital of Theed. The Gungan 'bongo' submarine is a transport in The Phantom Menace. Inexpensive, lightweight, easy to maintain and able to fill various functions, they are a widespread mainstay of many armed organisations, governments and major armed forces. They perform cavalry, scouting and mounted infantry roles and are armed with a single, or sometimes two, blasters. The BARC speeder appears in Revenge of the Sith and is a playable vehicle in Star Wars: Battlefront, Battlefront II and Star Wars Galaxies.

The final version's forward curve is based on the curve of a shovel, and parts of it are intended to suggest animalistic traits. Early drafts of The Phantom Menace described the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo being led by 'armored attack craft' that resembled helicopters. The AAT is a Trade Federation vehicle that appears in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the Star Wars expanded universe, and The Clone Wars. 23 Single Trooper Aerial Platform (STAP).22 Self-propelled heavy artillery (SPHA).

Battlefront 2 tow cable