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.