Mike’s magic touch on the MOJO Mini Next

4-minute read

In May 2025, Viasat unveiled the Move Out/Jump Off (MOJO) Mini Next, which was designed to deliver a compact and ruggedized Link 16 Tactical Data Link situational awareness capability for at-the-pause or on-the-move applications across environments.

In other words, the MOJO Mini Next is a portable, light, secure satellite link that can be deployed quickly without a lot of equipment needed – just the MOJO Mini Next, a power source, and an antenna.

A key figure in building this product was Mechanical Engineer Mike Guarino, who is a 40-year industry veteran. Mike got his start at Viasat when it purchased Enerdyne Inc., and his favorite part of his job is creating things that don’t exist yet.

Mike and his team, which included Lead Systems Engineer Greg Smyth, Lead Hardware Engineer Travis Rogers and System Engineer/Lab Technician Guillermo Cervantes Gonzalez, built the MOJO Mini Next quickly over six months, leveraging equipment already used in Viasat’s MOJO Next.

“I packaged the equipment to fit within the custom-sized carbon fiber case using the uniquely patented ‘rail system,’ which has changed the way equipment is mounted within cases since the 1950’s,” said Mike about his role in creating the product. “I also developed the thermal plan to keep the equipment cool enough while operating inside a box meant to be used in harsh environments.”

The MOJO Mini Next is the latest development in Viasat’s MOJO product family, which allows government users to centralize their disparate communications into a single Common Operating Picture. According to Mike, The MOJO Mini Next allows customers to have a stripped down-version of the MOJO Next technology.

“The MOJO Mini Next will allow customers to spend less while still getting a quality secure satellite link,” he said. “It will save lives by sharing data over the network, and it allows groups to see what a drone is seeing over the hill before they get there. That’s just one example of the capabilities it has. The product is setting the bar for compact, light, and portable secure satellite links in an affordable package.”

Though the MOJO Mini Next is one of Viasat’s newest products, the MOJO product line has actually been in production for quite some time, and Mike has been part of the process for the last 10 years. The original MOJO was designed in 2013 by an external contractor using a specific radio and network switch set up, but it was large and heavy, requiring four bodies to help lift it. As the product got older, the original equipment it was designed to use became obsolete, so Mike had to continue designing band-aids to keep the MOJO in circulation.

“In 2020, I was able to keep MOJO alive and selling by designing radio carriers to allow newer radios to be used within it and alternate network switches and modules,” said Mike on the evolution of MOJO. “This set up eventually came part of the next generation of MOJO – the MOJO Next, which I began working on in 2022.”

It is very satisfying to see products I designed go from concepts to actual functioning products customers can use and want. It’s the reason why I have been a mechanical engineer for over 40 years now.

Mike Guarino

The development of the MOJO Next helped the equipment become lighter, as it now only required two bodies to lift it, and it’s much more flexible as far as what equipment can be configured in the system to allow the customer to customize the product to fit their needs.

After the MOJO Next was introduced, Mike began designing the MOJO Mini Next in early 2024, taking inspiration from his original MOJO Mini designs from 2015.The MOJO Mini Next is a one-man lift, and while it doesn’t have as much flexibility as the MOJO Next does, it is much more portable and less expensive, bringing increased value and versatility to our customers.

For the past 10 years, Mike has been at the core of the development of all things MOJO, putting time, effort “and a little of myself” into making these products the best that they can be.

“Let’s face it, these are my babies,” said Mike on how special it is to see his work come to life. “It is very satisfying to see products I designed go from concepts to actual functioning products customers can use and want. It’s the reason why I have been a mechanical engineer for over 40 years now. To inherit the cumbersome, heavy original MOJO and develop it into the new MOJO Next systems that are lighter, more flexible, more up-to-date and in line to what customers are expecting in this century has been very gratifying.”

In the month after the MOJO Mini Next’s release, Mike is impressed by how successful the product has been. The experience working on the MOJO Mini Next has proven to him that he has what it takes to design cutting-edge, revenue-generating products, and it’s all thanks to the space that Viasat has given him to be creative and innovative.

“I would like to thank Viasat for allowing me to express myself in these designs,” he said. “I believe this has been a symbiotic relationship that has benefitted the both of us.”