A preliminary operations concept for the ngVLA

A future large area radio array optimized to perform imaging of thermal emission down to milliarcsecond scales is currently under consideration in North America. This `Next Generation Very Large Array' (ngVLA) will have ten times the effective collecting area and ten times longer baselines (300 km) than the JVLA. The large number of antennas and their large geographical distribution pose significant challenges to ngVLA operations and maintenance. We draw on experience from operating the JVLA, VLBA, and ALMA to highlight notable operational issues and outline a preliminary operations concept for the ngVLA.