In Pacific Rim, the giant human-piloted robots built to fight kaiju are called Jaegers.
The Jaegers are enormous combat machines created after monsters called kaiju begin emerging from an interdimensional portal beneath the Pacific Ocean. Each machine is controlled by human pilots, and the mental strain of operating such a huge robot leads to the film’s distinctive “neural handshake” system. Two pilots typically share control, with each handling part of the machine through a linked connection.
“Jaeger” is a German word meaning “hunter,” making the term a direct description of the robots’ role. It is not the name of one individual machine; characters such as Gipsy Danger, Striker Eureka, and Cherno Alpha are specific Jaegers.
Guillermo del Toro directed the film, which was released in 2013. The opposing monsters are called kaiju, a Japanese term widely used for giant cinematic creatures.