Interferometry can simulate the resolution of a dish corresponding to its baseline but not the sensitivity. The VLA may simulate the resolution of a 36 km dish

Interferometry can simulate the resolution of a dish corresponding to its baseline but not the sensitivity. The VLA may simulate the resolution of a 36 km dish, but it has the sensitivity of a 130 meter one, considerably less than Arecibo's 305. You're ultimately limited by signal vs noise and can't make up for the receiving area that simply isn't there, no matter the width of the baseline. This makes interferometers and stationary giant dishes different tools, suited to different types of observations. Arrays are not good at imaging extended diffuse sources.