at least for US and perhaps NATO forces. Warshots are usually camo. I wondered the same thing when I saw the launcher tube photos, but I don't know if that color scheme applies to Russian hardware.

Those missiles were Soviet-style SA-7s which are pretty equivalent to our old Redeye missiles. They were first generation man portable SAMs, which are old and not very sensitive. Unlike a Stinger, a Redeye or SA-7 isn't sensitive enough to detect the IR from skin friction heat. Instead, they have to lock in on a hot source like engine exhaust. They were designed to lock in on a fighter's jet exhaust, perferably on afterburner.

The Israeli airliner, like virtually all jet airliners in use today, uses turbofan engines which have much cooler exhaust than turbojets and afterburners.

Why did the missiles miss the airliner? There are several possibilities.

1. I seem to recall that the missiles were manufactured in the early 1980s. They could've just been too old or perhaps had bad batteries.

2. The IR seeker might've not been able to get a good lock on the airliner's engines.

3. The operators might not have been well trained in using the missiles.

Virtually all military missiles lack self-destruct mechanisms once they enter service unless they're in a test. Such a mechanism would make the missile vulnerable to electronic countermeasures.