Anti-Aircraft Cannon

Anti-Aircraft Cannon
Kill Icons
Basic Information
Used by	Heavy
Slot	Primary
Ammo
Ammo loaded	40
Reload type	No Reload
Loadout Stats
Anti-Aircraft Cannon Anti-Aircraft Cannon Fires explosive shells Mini-crits airborne enemies on direct hit -33% explosion splash damage Weapon has limited range "Which piece of you should Heavy send home to momma?"

Instead of bullets, this thumping old beast shoots short-range explosive rounds, so fast you can't see them—or airblast them—in flight. They'll detonate when they hit a surface, but they'll also detonate at a fixed range, dealing midair splash damage that's tough to avoid. (We've reassured Heavy that flak cannon explosive rounds are a lot like bullets.)

Anti-Aircraft Cannon publicity blurb

Promotional image of the Heavy with the Anti-Aircraft Cannon, shooting an Engineer using the Jump Pad out of the sky. Chekhov's Punch is in his back pocket.

The Anti-Aircraft Cannon, commonly referred to as the A.A. Cannon, is a primary weapon for Heavy, added in the Fight or Flight update. It resembles an anti-aircraft cannon, scaled down so as to be carried by a person.

Compared to the stock Minigun, the Anti-Aircraft Cannon has a much slower firing rate, less ammo, and a limited effective range. However, it fires high-damage hitscan bullets that explode when colliding with a surface or a player, or after 900 Hammer Units, dealing splash damage to all enemies in its wake. Despite being hitscan, the bullets still have a 6.5x6.5x6.5 Hammer Unit collision hull, meaning they cannot fit through very small gaps or shoot around tight corners, and can hit enemies even if the user's crosshair is slightly off of them. This also means that the bullets cannot be airblasted by an enemy Pyro, and will not destroy enemy stickybombs. The user can take damage (but not knockback) from their own explosions, so it is necessary to keep a short distance from whatever they are shooting at. This is assisted by the weapon's high knockback, preventing enemies from closing the distance between them and the Heavy. The Minigun's damage penalty against Sentry Guns does not apply to the Anti-Aircraft Cannon.

In addition, the Anti-Aircraft Cannon will mini-crit enemies who are 128 Hammer Units above the ground, and will mini-crit enemies who are explosive jumping or using a Jump Pad from any distance. The weapon's high knockback means that enemies can be juggled in the air, allowing for multiple mini-crits on an airborne enemy.

Properties

Properties
Shot type		Hitscan
Damage type		Explosive
Ranged or Melee?		Ranged
Taunt		Cradle
Damage
Maximum ramp-up	150%	87
Base damage	100%	58
Maximum fall-off	76.6%	44
Critical		174
Mini-crit		78
Mini-crit (ramp-up)		117
Bullet count		1
Splash
Minimum splash	33%	90 HU
Damage reduction		1% / 0.9 HU
Self-damage		44-86
Ammo
Loaded		40
Function Times
Attack interval		0.55 s
Windup time		1 s
Winddown time		0.5 s
All values are approximate.

Related Achievements

Achievement		Description
	Duck Season	Kill 9 airborne enemies with the A.A. Cannon's mini-crits.
	Collective Punishment	Using the A.A. Cannon, deal 2000 splash damage to enemies by landing direct hits on their teammates.
	Policy of Containment	Using the A.A. Cannon, deal 2000 damage in a single life without hitting yourself.
	Red Scare	Make an enemy Heavy blow himself up with his A.A. Cannon.

Update history

2.1.0

• Added the Anti-Aircraft Cannon

2.1.1

• Reduced blast radius from 110HU to 90HU wide
• Reduced damage from 60 to 55
• Overhauled sounds

2.1.2

• Reduced bullet hull size to 6.5HU (from 10HU)
• Increased base damage to 58 (from 55)
• Fixed the Heavy's voicelines and expressions not playing while revved and firing

2.1.3

• Overhauled weapon model
• Improved responsiveness when switching between revving states, especially noticeable when tapfiring on high ping
• Implemented lag compensation to the delayed explosion
• Overhauled killfeed icon

2.1.4

• Updated the Anti-Aircraft Cannon:
  • Updated the model and textures (SamDum)

Gallery

• 

  Pre-2.1.3 model and backpack icon by Wendy

• 

  Pre-2.1.3 kill icon

Trivia

• Part of the publicity blurb for the Anti-Aircraft Cannon says "Shoot for the moon!". This is part of the quote "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars". It is commonly attributed to Norman Vincent Peale, who was inspired by the Space Race.
• Although the Anti-Aircraft Cannon's model was overhauled in 2.1.3, the original model released with the Fight or Flight update can still be seen in the promotional art produced for the update pages, and on the achievement icons for Duck Season, Policy of Containment, and Red Scare. In the game files, a vtf file remains of an ao bake texture from an older version of the model.