López Calderón was born in 1954 in the city of Cartagena and joined the Spanish Navy after graduating at the Escuela Naval Militar in 1973.

During the latter, López Calderón took part in Operation Active Endeavor, as the 2nd Group included the Spanish surface ships that were assigned to the mission.

[citation needed] He also served a technical adviser to the Minister of Defense and head of the Navy General Staff's strategic planning section.

[3] He was appointed by the Council of Ministers as the replacement of Admiral General Jaime Muńoz-Delgado on 31 March 2017 as the new Chief of Staff of the Navy.

"[5] In January 2021, after the resignation of JEMAD Miguel Ángel Villarroya, he was appointed as the 12th Chief of Staff of the Spanish Armed Forces.