AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test)
Indian Air Force (IAF)Closed
AFCAT 02/2026 — Air Force Common Admission Test for Flying Branch and Ground Duty (Technical &Non-Technical) Branches / NCC Special Entry / GATE Score Entry, for courses commencing July 2027.Application window closed 21 Jun 2026 (extended); the written exam was held 08 Aug 2026 and the cycle is now in the AFSB/post-exam stage — no AFCAT 01/2027 notification has been released yet as of 03 Sep 2026.
Important Dates
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Vacancies & Posts
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Total Vacancies142Pay
| Pay Level | Pay Band | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| Flying Officer (on commissioning, 7th CPC Defence Matrix) | ₹56,100 – ₹1,77,500 (Level 10) + Military Service Pay ₹15,500/month | Flying Branch and Ground Duty (Technical & Non-Technical) officers, Indian Air Force |
Flight Cadets receive a fixed stipend of ₹56,100/month during the one-year training period at the Air Force Academy.On commissioning, additional allowances apply (Flying, Technical, Transport, Risk &Hardship, etc.) depending on branch and posting.
Who Can Apply
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Application fee
What You Need
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- 📷 PhotoRecent passport-size colour photograph · 100–200 KB · JPG/JPEG — light background, looking straight at camera with relaxed expression; file must be named "Passport Photograph.jpg/.jpeg".The same photograph must be used throughout the recruitment process and two physical copies pasted on the admit card at the exam centre.
- ✍️ SignatureScanned signature on white paper · 80–150 KB · JPG/JPEG — signed in black ink; only the signature area should be scanned, not the full page.
- 💳 Application FeeRs 250 for all applicants (no fee for NCC Special Entry candidates).
- Left/Right Thumb ImpressionLeft thumb for male applicants, right thumb for female applicants, pressed on an ink pad onto plain white paper · 50–100 KB · JPG/JPEG — required alongside photo and signature during online application.
How to Apply
Some details below are not confirmed — check the official notification ↗
View Official Notification ↗- Register and apply online at afcat.edcil.co.in; Aadhaar Card is mandatory for registration.
- Fill in personal, educational and branch-preference details carefully — details cannot be edited after the "Make Payment" step (except during the designated edit window, 29–30 Jun 2026 for this cycle).
- Upload scanned photograph (100–200KB JPEG), signature (80–150KB JPEG) and thumb impression (50–100KB JPEG) as specified.
- Pay the non-refundable application fee of ₹550 + 18% GST (not applicable for NCC Special Entry/GATE Score Entry) via net banking/card/UPI.
- Print and retain the submitted application form as proof.
- Appear for the AFCAT written exam (held 08 Aug 2026 for this cycle) at the allotted centre.
- Qualifiers are called for AFSB testing (3 stages over ~5–6 days: Stage-I screening — Officer Intelligence Rating + Picture Perception & Discussion Test; Stage-II — Psychological test, Group Tests and Interview) at one of five AFSB centres (Dehradun, Mysuru, Gandhinagar, Varanasi, Guwahati), followed by medical examination. Not confirmed
Exam Pattern
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AFCAT: 2 hours. EKT (technical entries only): 45 minutes (separate paper, same test day). · Negative Marking: +3 marks per correct answer, -1 mark per wrong answer (in both AFCAT and EKT); no deduction for unattempted questions. · Passing Marks: N/A — merit-based ranking for AFCAT/EKT written score; AFSB Interview is a separate qualifying (pass/fail) stage, not a fixed percentage, and final merit combines written score with AFSB assessment.
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| AFCAT | 100 questions/300 marks, 2 hours — General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability, Reasoning & Military Aptitude |
| EKT (Technical entry only) | 50 questions/100 marks, 45 minutes — Mechanical/Electrical/Computer Science/Electronics & Telecommunication (branch-specific) |
| AFSB Interview | Qualifying, multi-day (typically 5 days across 2 stages) — Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests, Picture Perception & Description Test, Psychological tests, Group Testing, Personal Interview |
Figures (100Q/300 marks/2hrs, +3/-1 marking, Rs 250 fee, NCC fee exemption) agree across multiple secondary sources (secondary sources, high consistency, high confidence).
Syllabus
Want the complete topic-by-topic syllabus for this exam?
View Full Syllabus →Selection Process
Online CBT (single written test — AFCAT), followed by AFSB (Air Force Selection Board) Interview for candidates who qualify, then medical examination.Technical branch candidates additionally take EKT (Engineering Knowledge Test) alongside AFCAT.
Source & Verification
FAQs
Do I need to take the EKT if I'm applying for a non-technical (Flying or Ground Duty) branch?
No, EKT is only for candidates applying to the Technical branch; Flying and Ground Duty (Non-Technical) branch applicants only take the main AFCAT paper.
Is AFCAT conducted once or twice a year?
Twice a year — AFCAT 1 (around February) and AFCAT 2 (around August/September), each with its own separate application cycle and cutoffs.
What happens if I clear AFCAT but fail the AFSB interview?
You do not get selected for that cycle — AFSB clearance is mandatory regardless of how high your AFCAT score is, and you would need to reapply and clear AFCAT again in a future cycle to get another AFSB chance.
Is there a fixed AFCAT passing percentage I should target?
No official fixed percentage is published — the cutoff is decided each cycle based on vacancies, branch, and category, and normalized against that session's performance, so treat any percentage figure you see online as an estimate, not a guarantee.
Important Links
GovBabu is independent and not affiliated with UPSC, SSC, IBPS, Railway, BPSC or any government body. Requirement details are compiled from official notifications where available — always confirm against the current official notification before submitting.