“I’m thinking the sub-sonic speed and larger than usual size for a tactical target resulted in the programming of the missile to slightly miscalculate the fusing and detonation sequence, so the missile overreached across the nose of its target before completing that detonation sequence.”
Or... horse puckey.
“Or... horse puckey.”
Perhaps...but how many fractions of a second are required for a missile traveling at 3.5 to 4 times the speed of sound to miscalculate and overshoot an approaching target by around 10 to 20 meters?