P.E.D. Trooper

The P.E.D. Trooper is a special Galactic Federation soldier, equipped with the still-experimental Phazon Enhancement Device. These soldiers are a much greater threat than their normal peers, for, when under dire circumstances, they can activate a siphon to a Phazon back on their backs, drawing the energy out of the volatile substance and temporarily boosting the power of the armorsuits the troopers wear, as well as their weapons systems.

While the power jump is indeed considerable, the increase is based on the original weaponry before activation. For example, a standard GF Trooper's pulse laser does poor damage even compared to Samus' power beam. When the P.E.D. is activated, the weapons strength does get a dramatic increase, but will be inferior to a comparatively enhanced power beam. With this in mind, it is still a very powerful weapon, bringing a standard trooper to the general threat index of Samus herself, in a sense.

It should be noted that the P.E.D. Troopers are only located in Norion, where their experimental weapon is being tested before widespread distribution. To date, no soldiers have shown signs of Phazon Madness (a sickness characterized by paranoia, possessiveness, mania, and bizarre desire for Phazon). This problem was apparently ironed out when GF scientists reverse-engineered the P.E.D. from Space Pirate technology. One must wonder what will happen when the Federation runs out of Phazon...

In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the P.E.D. Troopers only appear during one sequence in the game, as Samus is rushing to the Planetary Defense Control Room. (on Norion) They open the way for her and demonstrate their considerable power, showing a taste of what was to come for players, on a much higher scale.