A hypersonic weapon may fail after limited damage

Would fragmentation or blast effects be more likely to defeat a hypersonic missile?

Either can work if it disrupts the flight path; at hypersonic speed, tumbling or structural overstress may finish the weapon.

Fragmentation and blast effects can both matter against a hypersonic weapon. At such high speed, even limited damage that disrupts the flight path may make the weapon tumble or exceed its structural limits. A defence may therefore succeed by forcing loss of controlled flight rather than destroying every component. The answer is a general mechanism and does not identify a particular interceptor or demonstrated system.