> A little reminder that the missile fired at the balloon had its warhead REMOVED!

Where are people getting this idea from? I've seen zero reputable reporting of it, and there's a visible grey smoke cloud from the explosive in the close-up videos. https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1621996717624393728

There is no massive fireball Michael Bay explosion which, I assume, is what people expect.

This is a very strange thing to say, because shooting a missile with an explosive warhead is exactly what most people expect, whereas the kinetic version does not come to mind immediately

> shooting a missile with an explosive warhead is exactly what most people expect

No, it tends to be far less dramatic than people imagine; the missile itself is largely a shrapnel delivery vehicle. If there's a fireball, it tends to come more from the thing you hit, which tends (but not in this case) to be full of jet fuel.

I just haven't seen reputable reporting that the missile didn't have a warhead. I was also noting that AA missiles in broad daylight and very far away aren't very exciting which might lead some to think it had no warhead.

Edit: In the closeup footage I see a flash of orange (explosion) in the debris cloud for a frame or two.