Black Kite

Black Kite
Type	Pistol
Ammunition	.45 ACP (Hydroshock) 8 round magazine

The Israel Military Industries Desert Eagle (called 'Black Kite' in-game) is a large-caliber semi-automatic handgun appearing in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat.

Background

It was made in the U.S., but mostly manufactured by Israeli Military Industries. Although most Desert Eagles use either .50 Action Express, .44 Magnum or .357 Magnum shells, the Desert Eagles in the Zone appear to be custom made; where they can use less powerful, but more abundant .45 ACP rounds.

Overview

The Desert Eagle is uncommon in the Zone, and found only in a few locations and sold only by a few traders.

Appearances

Shadow of Chernobyl

Character view

In Shadow of Chernobyl, the Desert Eagle can be first found on Gordon's corpse, near the family rifle. Although, depending on the game version, it may be possible to buy one from Duty. The Desert Eagle sold by Duty presumably belonged to a Mercenary named Hog, who appeared in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky.

Like Big Ben, players can also fit a silencer, although this will decrease the weapon's power slightly - then again it will still have the most power of any pistol, aside from the Big Ben.

Clear Sky

The Desert Eagle is a more exclusive and rare weapon in Clear Sky. Some Bandits in Limansk have a Desert Eagle as a sidearm. Kostyan and Hog are known to carry one of these pistols. Alternatively, you can either join the Bandits and buy it from Tooth or do enough jobs for the Bandits and wait for the job that requires the "Modified shooter", a fully modified Desert Eagle with its initial stats boosted. One other way to get it is to kill all Bandits at their base until the base door opens, and kill their leader, Yoga, or Senka.

When fully upgraded for accuracy, the Desert Eagle has the hitting power rivaling an assault rifle, while its accuracy is second only to the M1911; making it the second most accurate pistol in the game and second to none in terms of pistol firepower. Unlike in Shadow of Chernobyl, the recoil of the gun is lesser in comparison; as the barrel rising has been noticeably reduced. However, the gun's handling is still compromised by rapid firing, making it very easy to lose aim of a distant target if firing in that manner. Aydar, Thunderov and Grey are the only ones who can fully upgrade the Desert Eagle, though you will need to get 2 USB flash disks containing upgrade schematics for Aydar. Limpid and Garin can also upgrade the Desert Eagle but cannot install the final upgrades. A silencer cannot be attached to this weapon.

Modified Shooter

The modified shooter is a custom Desert Eagle with its initial stats boosted, and is fully upgraded for accuracy and damage. It appears as a Bandit job where one will have to fetch it from a fallen Renegade who, in the Bandit's words, "Didn't get along" with Yoga and was ordered to "disappear". Due to the Desert Eagle's rarity and sheer power compared to other pistols, it is better to keep the pistol instead of trading it in; as you will only receive 1,500 rubles for your services. But if you are trying to improve relations with the Bandits, or you are merc who keeps his word, it is better to trade it in.

Call of Pripyat

Nimble can sell a Steppe Eagle, which is a unique version with higher accuracy and damage. The regular Desert Eagle is more commonplace in the game, carried by some experts from the Freedom and Monolith factions, and found in the hands of expert Bandits on occasion. Some can also be found in caches, and in the later stages can be purchased from Hawaiian. Unlike most pistols with the full three tiers of upgrades, the Desert Eagle lacks any kind of firing mode upgrade. It will only ever fire in semi-auto, however the Desert Eagle is the most accurate and powerful pistol in the game, aside from unique pistols.

A Desert Eagle can be found near the Iron Forest anomaly in Zaton; it is located inside of a desk in the entrance to the workshop.

Trivia

• Taking the weapon's weight into account: The Black Kite appears to be based on the Desert Eagle Mark VII chambered to fire the .357 cartridge