The Vulcan cannon is a hydraulically, pneumatically, or electrically driven, six-barreled, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style gun with an extremely high rate of fire. While varying in caliber, their main role is essentially the same - delivery of massive amounts of firepower in a short amount of time. To this end each of the barrels is outfitted with its own firing chamber, permitting continuous fire without overheating.
This gun is highly effective against infantry, killing them in only a few volleys of shells, but not as effective against heavily armored vehicles and infantry, such as cyborgs, due to their heavy armor. The rounds used by Vulcan cannons are more than sufficient to shatter plexiglass and light armor, thus giving it some use against lightly armored vehicles such as Nod Buggies and Recon Bikes.
In service ever since the First Tiberium War, it has been an integral part of weapon arsenals of all factions in varying calibers and forms (including a short-lived personal chaingun). It was, for example, mounted in A-10 Thunderbolts. In the Second Tiberium War it has been the basic anti-infantry weapon of the GDI component towers (in the form of the Vulcan cannon upgrade), Wolverines, as well as being used on several converted automobiles of the Forgotten. Nod cyborgs also had compact versions mounted on their right arms as a primary weapon. Some of the mutants opted to use them while on foot, and some continue to (e.g. the Mutant Marauders). By the years leading up to the Fourth Tiberium War, Vulcan cannons were mounted on the frame of Kodiak-class battlecruisers thus providing the fly vessels with a level of anti-aircraft capabilities.
