Abstract: A compact, high gain 8-element circular smart antenna is able to scan a beam azimuthally through 360°. The 8-element array is placed on a ground skirt and connected to an 8-channel beamforning board via a transfer plate. Each channel has two T/R switches, one band pass filer, one power amplifier, two low noise amplifiers, one phase shifter, and one attenuator. The 8-channel-signal is combined through power splitters/combiners and then sent to a connected radio. An FPGA chip controls the digital phase shifters, attenuators and switches for signal searching, beamforming and tracking. The smart antenna can be operated as a compact switched beam system or with an additional processor as an adaptive array system. The smart antenna is capable of tracking mobile targets, directionally communicating with desired users, suppressing interference and jamming, and enabling long range communications with high throughput and reliable connection because of its high antenna gain.