[Trade portrait] Jordan manages sonar tests on the Indian submarines.

18 May 2021 Innovation Submarines Defense Naval

Contenu

Since joining the Underwater Detection (UWD) team in 2013, Jordan has always worked in export. Following his work on the Brazilian Scorpène® submarines, he currently manages the sonar tests on the Indian submarines. Having travelled the equivalent of several times the world’s length on various missions, he takes on the challenges of his trade with as much passion and pleasure as on his first day in the job!

As an initial experience, the young 23-year-old engineer joined the Scorpène® Brazil team and was tasked with sonar acceptance in the factory, carrying out a series of missions and trips to suppliers for validation in the tank and on the platform. Shortly after, he also took on the role of Systems manager for the Indian submarines, a historic contract won by the group in 2005. Until 2017, his time was divided between Brazil and India. “These three years of simultaneous work on the two programmes have taught me a lot. Since both programmes were not at the same stage of progress, I had the opportunity to take part in very different phases. In India, the shipyard and the on-site installations were just being set up and required a lot of responsiveness – and all this at the other end of the world! There was no room for downtime on the shipyard”, recalls Jordan, who currently works exclusively on the Indian programme.

The privilege of working in a unique trade

Jordan recognises how lucky he has been. “For example, during a mission in India in 2016, I had an incredible experience: while working on the Scorpène® sonar quayside, I was alone in the naval base with the supplier in the middle of the night, as a silence crept over Mumbai, which is a particularly noisy city!”, he reminisces.

After having conducted trials until the third submarine of the series, he is currently preparing the sea trials for the fourth - which will take place this year - and those for the fifth, whose delivery is expected in 2022. In six years, he will have carried out 19 assignments, for a total of eight months in India, including more than 30 days underwater: “Each assignment is unique: interactions vary according to the different crews. Challenges change and tools evolve as we take feedback into account in order to constantly progress on our test and validation methods on the sonar chain. Sometimes, when equipment between India and Brazil is identical, I carry over previously successful solutions from the Indian programme and propose developments to the Brazilian teams ahead of their programme phase”, explains the engineer, who always takes pleasure in his daily operations despite his heavy workload.

Proud of being part of a large group

Among his top motivations is the desire to contribute to Naval Group’s reputation: “Our end goal is to validate our systems at sea by demonstrating the performance of the products delivered and integrated on-board. The challenge in our field is to take into account the various integration and environmental constraints, and to ensure that the entire integrated sonar system operates correctly and is to the satisfaction of the end customer.

We must also conduct operations in the field and, while respecting the scope of each worker, respond to the customer's requests, exchange with crews from different cultures, answer questions and provide expertise – in this line of work, others are the key to your growth. Every new trial and submarine brings with them a unique experience and help strengthen relationships. This also plays its part in the customer’s satisfaction and in Naval Group’s reputation. ”