Aircraft may partly disintegrate, but this is not the main mode of operation of air defense systems. The main mode of operation is to produce a relatively smal

Aircraft may partly disintegrate, but this is not the main mode of operation of air defense systems. The main mode of operation is to produce a relatively small near-by explosion that creates a wave of moving particles (shrapnel). Shrapnel causes the destruction of everything it touches. Engines, radio transmitters, communications, and sadly... people.