With 22 years of service in the United States Navy, including 12 years as a submariner, Jose Mercado has dedicated his career to mastering the intricacies of submarine operations. Now, he’s bringing that expertise to Australia.
Mobilising from HII to H&B Defence, Jose has relocated from Virginia’s Newport News Shipyard (NNS) to Perth, where he will lend his expertise to assessing Australian suppliers through the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Program. His mission? To evaluate and enhance Australia’s industrial readiness to deliver nuclear-powered submarines.
Jose’s technical acumen has taken him from deep water deployments to operating nuclear reactors on US Navy aircraft carriers, then transitioning into strategic program management within defence industry. His role at HII focused on identifying and eliminating bottlenecks while collaborating with stakeholders to resolve issues during submarine overhaul—a skillset now invaluable in Australia’s push for to be sovereign-.ready.
“I am excited to help foster the nuclear ideology, As a former submariner, it’s something I believe in. I want to make our allies more capable and really open the aperture for Australia’s defence capability,” he says.
Jose will initially assess Australian suppliers for capability focused on Forging and Castings and Precision Machining, ensuring these vendors meet the rigorous quality requirements necessary to join the NNS supply chain environment.
“The Australian industrial base is very capable. There is no question that Australian suppliers can build parts for nuclear-powered submarines, but there are some unique aspects of the nuclear-powered submarine supply chain, which is where our expertise and foundational knowledge comes into play,” Jose says. “We’ve (HII) been doing this for 65 years in the US so there are lessons learned that Australia can take advantage of.”
Jose emphasises that quality control and accountability are paramount in nuclear-powered submarine construction.
“In the nuclear environment, you need 100% quality, 100% of the time,” he says. “The culture piece [for delivering a high-quality product] is not foreign to Australian businesses, but the magnitude of the ramifications if you don’t all pull in the same direction is. The pedigree of the parts you need in mining for example might not be the same or as important as they are on a nuclear-powered submarine. Everyone in the chain needs to be accountable.
“The blended team of HII and Babcock brings together two different but complementary businesses. Australia will benefit from collective best practices, and deliver an even better product. Collaboration breeds innovation which can go three ways in this alliance, so it’s win, win, win.”
Jose says the drive and dedication of Australian suppliers has been immediately evident: “Everyone here is motivated to get the job done right. They exhibit this can-do attitude, which is very refreshing. They welcome the challenge of working toward higher-tier requirements, because it tests and showcases their capability. H&B Defence’s quality stamp will speak volumes about their products.”
It is this dedication, Jose believes, that will shapes Australia’s defence capability, and further strengthen the nation’s position on the global stage.
“We want Australia to become an industrial machine, not only in mining and oil and gas but in defence too,” he says.
