Introduction To AFCAT Exam – Exam Pattern, Eligibility Criteria, Process etc.

Introduction To AFCAT Exam: The full form AFCAT is Air Force Common Admission Test. AFCAT is organized by the Indian Air Force to recruit candidates in the Flying (Short Service Commission), Technical (Permanent and Short Service Commission) and Ground Duty (Permanent and Short Service Commission) branches. 

The flying branch consists of combat, transport and helicopters and the technical branch deals with mechanical and electronic aspects, while the ground duty branch includes administration, accounting, logistics, education and meteorology. The Permanent Commission refers to a career in the Indian Air Force till retirement and the Short Service Commission refers to a limited period career in the Indian Air Force.

The term of SSC is 14 years and will not be extended on completion. By giving AFCAT exam, one can join the Permanent Commission or the Short Service Commission of the Indian Air Force. The AFCAT is held twice a year, once in February and the second in August, established in 2011, the IAF recruits its officers for all its branches, except the Medical and Dental branches. Age limits of unmarried Indian men are 20 to 26 years (for technical and ground duty branch) and 20 to 24 years (for flying branch) are eligible to apply for AFCAT.

Through AFCAT you can apply for all the three branches of IAF which are Flying Branch, Technical Branch and Ground Duty branches. The eligibility criteria are different for different branches. Both women and men can apply for all three branches. While only three branches have short service commission for women, there is permanent service commission for men as well as short service commission for men. However there is only short service commission for flying branches through AFCAT. Thus if you clear the written test and then also clear the AFSB then you have a chance to join the Air Force Academy.

AFCAT Exam Details

Introduction To AFCAT Exam: The written exam is a 2-hour duration exam. It consists of 100 questions and each question carries 3 marks. Thus a candidate gets 3 marks for each correct answer, one mark is deducted for each wrong answer and there is no marking when any question is blank. The paper contains a mixture of different types of areas. There are questions from Current Affairs, Math, Reasoning, English, History, Geography, Science, Polity, Economics etc.

After the written examination, the result is declared and the cut off is decided. Candidates who score above the cut-off are called for AFSB interview. This interview is a personality test conducted for a period of 6 days. This personality test is conducted in two stages and consists of tests such as intelligence tests, psychological tests, group work and personal interviews. Further details on AFSB are beyond the scope here and you can always follow our SSBC Crack for more information on AFSB and SSB.

Introduction To AFCAT Exam: Branches 

Through this examination, candidates are selected for the three departments of Indian Air Force, Flying, Technical and Ground departments. After Ground Duty Department Selection, the candidates are classified for other small department as follows -

• Flying department
• Technical - Mechanical & Electronic
• Ground Duty Department (Non-Tech)

Age limit for AFCAT exam

What should be the age limit for AFCAT exam? Let's know, Flying Department - The age of the candidate for this department should be 20 to 24 years. If the candidate has a recognized pilot license, then there is a relaxation of 2 years in the upper age limit, here we can also tell you that the ground duty department (technical and non-technical) - there is an age limit of 20 to 26 years. .

AFCAT Educational Qualification

The branch-wise educational qualification for 

Flying Branch: Candidates must have passed Class 12 with 60% in Maths and Physics and graduated in any discipline/BE/BTech/Cleared section A and B exam of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India with 60%.

Ground Duty (Technical) Branch & Aeronautical Engineer (Electronics) (AE (L))

Candidates must have completed Class 12 with 60% in Physics and Mathematics and a minimum of four years degree graduation/integrated post-graduation in Engineering/Technology from recognised university. 

 Or

Cleared Sections A and B examination of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India or Graduate membership examination of the institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers by actual studies with 60% in the following disciplines:

Aeronautical Engineer (Mechanical)

 Candidates must have passed Class 12 with 60% in Physics and Maths and four-year graduation/integrated post-graduation qualification in Engineering/Technology from recognised university or cleared sections A and B examination of Associate Membership of Institute of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India by actual studies with minimum 60% in following subjects.

• Aerospace Engineering
• Aeronautical Engineering.
• Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.
• Mechanical Engineering. 

• Mechanical Engineering and Automation.
• Mechanical Engineering (Production).
• Mechanical Engineering (Repair and Maintenance).

Ground Duty (Non-Technical) Branches

 Administration & Logistics: Graduation in any discipline/cleared section A and B of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India with 60%.

 Accounts: Graduation in Commerce with 60% or equivalent marks.