“Matter is not destroyed by an explosive”
Picky, picky.
After detonation of a Sidewinder missile warhead, does the resulting damage to one of these “objects” make them unsuitable for analysis?
It should not destroy the payload other than shred it a bit or pierce it with high velocity frag.
If the missile struck the balloon itself and not the “cargo” I would expect most of the damage to the cargo would be from the impact on the water. If the cargo was in the frag envelope it would be analogous to shooting a DVD player at close range with a #6 shotgun round. You could still piece it back together and identify what it was.
No