Barrage cannon

"Assimilate this!"

When he's not shooting through Decepticon body armor with his Ion blaster or slicing off heads with his battle blades or Energon Hooks, Optimus Prime will use his barrage cannon against his opponents. With a range of up to sixty miles, the laser-sighted barrage cannon fires plutonium tipped warheads at a rate of 6 warheads per second, with each warhead carrying the equivalent of 3,000 lbs of TNT.<ref>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: The Movie Universe</ref>

Remember that, people: Optimus Prime is carrying nukuler nuclear weapons to keep humanity safe from the Decepticons.

Fiction

Revenge of the Fallen film

After Sam Witwicky was captured by the Decepticons, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee arrived at the abandoned warehouse and fought with the Decepticons. While Bumblebee rescued Sam, Mikaela and Leo, Optimus Prime battled against Megatron and Starscream using his barrage cannon and ion blaster. Revenge of the Fallen

Games

Revenge of the Fallen The Game

"Say hello to my little friends!"

Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC

Autobot Campaign

As primary weapon, Optimus Prime possessed the barrage cannons. His secondary weapon was a modified version of the same cannons. Revenge of the Fallen

Decepticon Campaign

Optimus Prime used both versions of the barrage cannon against an opponent in the climactic battle. Revenge of the Fallen

Toys

Transformers (2007)

Perhaps stuffing fuel tanks with gunpowder wasn't the best idea.

• Optimus Prime (Voyager Class, 2007)
• Robo-Vision Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2007)
• Bumblebee and Optimus Prime (Argos exclusive two-pack, UK 2007)
• Battle damage three-pack (Sam's Club exclusive three-pack, 2007)
• First Strike Optimus Prime (Voyager Class, 2008)
• Freeway Brawl Optimus Prime (Two-Pack) ("Screen Battles" Voyager, 2008)

Despite being introduced in Revenge of the Fallen, all versions of this mold already carried two cannons, which resembled barrage cannons.

At this point people were into the Battle Blades.

Revenge of the Fallen

• Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2009)
• Defender Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2010)
• Jet Power Optimus Prime (Voyager, Canceled)

As redecos of the 2007 molds, these versions also carried the barrage cannons.

Transformers (2010)

Even the one called "Battle blades Optimus" still has the cannons!

• Battle Blades Optimus Prime (Voyager, 2010)

This new mold of Voyager Class carried a totally new, more movie accurate version of the barrage cannons.

Dark of the Moon

Cyberverse

Are those some new kinds of upside-down bayonets?

• Battle Steel Optimus Prime (Cyberverse Commander, 2011)

This redeco of the Cyberverse Commander Optimus Prime comes with his swords and handheld dual barrage cannons. The cannons act as humongous rocket boosters in vehicle mode, and can be swung out for use as weapons. The cannons each feature a 3 mm hole on top used for mounting the swords, and the combined base of the cannons also contains three C joint clips, with the one underneath being used for mounting the cannons onto the truck hitch (a C joint bar), and one on each side. The smokestacks of the truck are C joint-compatible, meaning the cannons (with their base halves) can be clipped to the smokestacks instead of being held by their handles, leaving Optimus' hands free to wield his other accessories.

Despite being the smallest models of the barrage cannons, they are the most movie accurate versions ever released.

Voyager Class toys

The cannons are powered by magical moonlight.

• Optimus Prime w/ Deluxe Class Comettor (Voyager, 2011)

This redeco/retool of the Voyager Class Battle Blades Optimus Prime comes with the same barrage cannons.

Notes

• At the firing rate of 6 shots per second, range of 60 miles and 1.36 tons of TNT per shell, Prime doesn't need any other weapons.
• The Barrage Cannon in the film appears to be the same weapon as the Ion blaster, just firing different ammunition.

See also

• Fusion cannon
• Ion blaster
• Mega Striker

References

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