Assault Cannon

The rapid firing assault cannonThe assault cannon is a six-barreled, self-loading automatic weapon, effective against infantry targets and light vehicles at close to medium range. The weapon's large size and tremendous fire rate require special means to sustain, so the assault cannon is normally mounted on vehicles or walkers such as Dreadnoughts, or specially damped and fitted to Terminator armor. It is also a rare privilege for the Blood Angels as their close assault Baal Predator tanks sport a twin linked assault cannon in the turret. The anti-infantry Land Raider Crusader has also has a similar dual assault cannon mount (while the standard Land Raider has a dual heavy bolter).

Although the assault cannon lacks the range of other rapid-fire guns such as the heavy bolter and the autocannon, its enormous rate of fire enables it to literally shred its way through most targets, punishing them with hundreds of rounds per minute. Assault cannons are extremely potent at medium to close range, against armored infantry and moderately armored vehicles, while heavy bolters are only effective against lighted armored targets and auto cannons have a slower firing rate. The assault cannon epitomizes the deadliness of elite Terminator squads who teleport behind the enemy's front line and open up fully-automatic fire, spreading carnage and terror.

Assault cannons are used by Planetary Defence Forces on rare occasions as a stand-mounted defensive weapon, and are also found on the Destroyer variant of the Marauder bomber.