AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test)
AFCAT is the entrance examination conducted by the Indian Air Force to select candidates for the Air Force Academy (AFA) for training as commissioned officers in the Flying and Ground Duty branches. It is one of the key gateways for aspirants aiming to join the Indian Air Force as officers.
The test assesses candidates on their General awareness, Reasoning ability, Numerical ability and English language skills, alongside subject-specific knowledge depending on the branch applied for.
Successful candidates proceed to the Services Selection Board (SSB) Interview and Medical examination before final selection.
Key Eligibility Criteria
Age Limits:
- Flying Branch: 20 to 24 years (upper age limit relaxable up to 26 years for candidates with a valid Commercial Pilot License)
- Ground Duty (Technical & Non-Technical) Branches: 20 to 26 years
Educational Qualifications:
Flying Branch:
- Minimum 60% marks each in Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level
- Graduation with minimum 60% marks in any discipline OR
- BE/B.Tech degree with minimum 60% marks
Ground Duty (Technical):
- Engineering degree (BE/B.Tech) in specified disciplines with minimum 60% marks
Ground Duty (Non-Technical):
- Graduation in any discipline with minimum 60% marks (some posts require specific subjects like Physics, Chemistry, or Maths)
Physical Standards:
- Candidates must meet prescribed physical and medical standards set by the Indian Air Force.
AFCAT 1 Exam Pattern 2025
The online test of AFCAT is divided into four sections- General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test. A total of 100 questions are asked in the exam. The maximum number of marks allotted to the test are 300.
| Subject | Exam Duration | No of Questions | Maximum Marks |
| General Awareness | 02 hours | 100 | 300 |
| Verbal Ability in English | |||
| Numerical Ability | |||
| Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test |
Previous Years’ AFCAT Exam Analysis 2025
Candidates can check AFCAT last year exam analysis below to know the difficulty level of the exam.
Overall AFCAT 1 2024 Exam Analysis
| Sections | Overall Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
| General Awareness | Moderate | 13-15 |
| Numerical Ability | Easy to Moderate | 16-17 |
| Reasoning and Mental Ability | Moderate | 22-24 |
| English Language | Easy | 20-22 |
Section-Wise Distribution of Questions
Quantitative Aptitude
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| SI & CI | 1-2 |
| Time and Work | 1-2 |
| Time and Distance | 1 |
| Profit and Loss | 1-2 |
| Average | 1 |
| Ratio & Proportion | 1-2 |
| Number System | 2-3 |
| Number Series | 2-3 |
English Language
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | 4-5 |
| Technical | 4-5 |
| Sentence Rearrangement | 2-3 |
| Error Detection | 4-5 |
| Idioms & Phrases | 2-3 |
| Antonyms | 1-2 |
| Cloze Test | 2-3 |
| Analogy | 1-2 |
Reasoning & Military Aptitude
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Odd One Out | 1-2 |
| Rearrangement Letter | 1-2 |
| Mathematical Relation | 2-3 |
| Blood Relation | 2-3 |
| Coding-Decoding | 1-2 |
| Analogy | 1-2 |
| Puzzle Test | 2-3 |
General Awareness
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Odd One Out | 1-2 |
| Rearrangement Letter | 1-2 |
| Mathematical Relation | 2-3 |
| Blood Relation | 2-3 |
| Coding-Decoding | 1-2 |
| Analogy | 1-2 |
| Puzzle Test | 2-3 |
