Some of the significant aspects of a design method a short backfire antenna (BFA) are discussed. The method consists of a number of elements, such as A feed, a surface wave (SW) structure S, and two parallel disk reflectors. The SW structure is a metal disk-on-rod construction, allowing same design method to be applied to backfire antennas with other types of SW rods. The design scheme is based on simple empirical equations, graphs and tables, and is validated by measurements of BFA prototypes with disk-on-rod structure. The scheme can also be extended to antennas up to six wavelengths by a simple exploration process. A BFA comprises of an axial SW structure 2 to 4 wavelengths long and the structure is eliminated when the BFA antenna is converted into a short BFA (SBFA). The SBFA has a medium directivity with gain of approximately 12 to 16 dB and is gaining increasing use in satellite communications and WLAN links.