  The science goals of IceCube-Gen2 include multi-messenger astronomy,
astroparticle and particle physics. To this end, the observatory will include
several detection methods, including a surface array and in-ice optical
sensors. The array will have an approximately 8 km$^2$ surface coverage
consisting of elevated scintillator panels and radio antennas to detect air
showers in the energy range of several 100 TeV to a few EeV. The observatory's
design is unique in that the measurements using the surface array can be
combined with the observations of $\geq$300 GeV muons, produced in the hadronic
cascades, using the optical detectors in the ice. This allows for an enhanced
ability to study cosmic-ray and hadronic physics as well as to boost the
sensitivity for astrophysical neutrinos from the southern sky by reducing the
primary background, atmospheric muons. We will present the baseline design of
the surface array and highlight the expected scientific capabilities.

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena;Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics