Everything you need to know about AFCAT 2 2026
The Air Force Common Admission Test is conducted twice a year by the Indian Air Force for Flying and Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical) branches. Here is the pattern, syllabus and cut-off reality you should plan against.
Exam pattern
AFCAT has 100 questions worth 300 marks in 120 minutes. Every correct answer earns 3 marks and every incorrect answer costs 1 mark. Unattempted questions carry no penalty.
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Awareness | 25 | 75 |
| Verbal Ability in English | 25 | 75 |
| Numerical Ability | 18 | 54 |
| Reasoning & Military Aptitude | 32 | 96 |
| Total | 100 | 300 |
Candidates for the Technical branch also sit the Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT): 50 questions, 150 marks, 45 minutes, conducted immediately after AFCAT.
Syllabus at a glance
General Awareness
- History, Geography, Polity and Economy
- Defence, current affairs and national events
- Basic science, environment and sports
Verbal Ability in English
- Comprehension, error detection, sentence completion
- Synonyms, antonyms and idioms
- Cloze test and testing of vocabulary
Numerical Ability
- Decimal fractions, simplification, average
- Profit & loss, percentage, ratio and proportion
- Simple and compound interest, time & work, speed & distance
Reasoning & Military Aptitude
- Verbal skills and spatial ability
- Series, coding-decoding, analogies
- Venn diagrams, blood relations and direction sense
Eligibility essentials
Education
Graduation with 60% marks; Physics & Maths at 10+2 for the flying branch.
Age
20–24 years for flying branch, 20–26 years for ground duty (as on course commencement).
Physical
Minimum height 162.5 cm for flying branch, with specific leg length and sitting height norms.
Fee
Around ₹550 examination fee (subject to the official notification).
Always confirm details against the official AFCAT 2 2026 notification published on the Indian Air Force career portal.