AFCAT
Selection of Class-I gazetted officers for the Indian Air Force's Flying branch and Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical) branches, for Short Service and Permanent Commission.
Eligibility
Graduates with at least 60% marks; the Flying branch additionally requires Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 (or B.E./B.Tech). Age 20-24 years for Flying (up to 26 with a valid Commercial Pilot Licence) and 20-26 years for Ground Duty branches. Candidates in their final year may apply provided they meet standards at the time of testing.
Age limit: 20-24 years (Flying), 20-26 years (Ground Duty)
Exam pattern
Online computer-based test of 2 hours: 100 questions, 300 marks, +3 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong one. Sections cover General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning and Military Aptitude — with no sectional cutoff. Ground Duty (Technical) candidates sit an additional Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) of 50 questions, 150 marks, in 45 minutes. Shortlisted candidates face the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB) — officer intelligence rating tests, psychology, group tasks and interview — plus Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) for Flying.
Syllabus at a glance
General Awareness spans history, geography, polity, environment, defence and current affairs. Verbal Ability tests comprehension, error detection, synonyms/antonyms and idioms. Numerical Ability is Class 10-level arithmetic: percentages, ratio, profit-loss, time-speed-distance and simple/compound interest. Reasoning includes verbal logic and spatial/military aptitude with figure-based questions. EKT tests core engineering fundamentals for the relevant discipline.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AFCAT 02/2026 result (exam held 8 Aug 2026) | Late Aug-Sept 2026 (expected) | expected |
| AFCAT 01/2027 notification | Nov-Dec 2026 (expected) | expected |
| AFCAT 01/2027 application window | Nov-Dec 2026 (expected) | expected |
| AFCAT 01/2027 exam | Late Jan-Feb 2027 (expected) | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) Guide — Arihant Experts
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations — R.S. Aggarwal
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning — R.S. Aggarwal
- Objective General English — S.P. Bakshi
- Let's Crack EKT — SSBCrack (for Ground Duty Technical)
How toppers play it
- The +3/-1 marking makes accuracy king: recent cutoffs sit around 150-160 of 300, achievable with about 60 confident attempts.
- There is no sectional cutoff — front-load your strongest sections (verbal and reasoning are typically the most score-rich).
- Take the official practice tests on the EdCIL portal beforehand; familiarity with the CBT navigation saves real minutes.
- Military aptitude (rotated figures, embedded figures) is pure pattern practice — a week of past-paper drills lifts it sharply.
- Ground Duty (Technical) aspirants must budget separate time for the EKT, which runs immediately after the main paper on the same sitting.