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You don't have to necessarily explode it, just de-orbit it. If you're going to hit it ballistically, then you've already got the capability to de-orbit without risk of cascade.

This is beyond the scope of my knowledge so maybe it's a stupid question, but why doesn't space debris deorbit on its own like anything else not in geostationary orbit?

From the wikipedia entry:

> Orbital decay is much slower at altitudes where atmospheric drag is insignificant. Slight atmospheric drag, lunar perturbation, and solar wind drag can gradually bring debris down to lower altitudes where fragments finally reenter, but this process can take millennia at very high altitudes.

The US's latest anti-satellite test struck from higher altitude than the target, aiming the debris field toward the atmosphere where it quickly de-orbited.

I hadn't heard that part of the story before. I found a source. [0] Sounds like the strategy wasn't super successful. Impressive ballistics though!

[0]: http://swfound.org/media/167224/through_a_glass_darkly_march...