How long could Belgrano have remained a threat?

If General Belgrano had not been hit, how much longer could it have remained in action?

Only hours in wartime, because British missiles and surface forces were closing on it; without the war it could have lasted longer in service.

The estimate is that General Belgrano would have lasted only a few more hours in combat because other British forces and weapons were closing on it. Exocet and other surface-to-surface missiles are mentioned alongside a surface action group. The captain and ship are initially recalled incorrectly, then corrected to John Coward in HMS Brilliant. There is also a suggestion that sparing Belgrano would have increased British interest in attacking the Argentine carrier. If the war had never happened, a further decade of service is considered plausible. These are counterfactual judgments about the ship's prospects, rather than a certain timetable for an alternative sinking.