Royal Air Force Tests

Careers at The Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force provides incredible training and qualifications to all those enrolled on their prestigious graduate scheme. In order to join, you need to undergo some of the most demanding tests currently used today.

There are a number of roles within the RAF that require you to complete a selection test, which is otherwise known as the AST. Such roles include:

Air Traffic Controller / Air Traffic Control Officer / Aerospace Battle Manager / RAF Regiment / Weapons Systems Operator.

The AST is completed at your local Armed Forces Careers Office (AFCO) and is broken down into seven sections which comprise of a total of 148 questions overall. We have provided some information on each of these sections below:

Royal Air Force Verbal Reasoning

This test will present you with short passages of texts, from which you will need to answer a series of questions. These questions will determine your attention to detail and analytical skills. What makes this test difficult is the short amount of time in which you have to complete it. You will be faced with 20 questions and allocated only 15 minutes to complete it, and so time pressure will be a factor you need to consider.

Royal Air Force Numerical Reasoning Tests

This test is split in two parts. The first section focuses on basic arithmetic such as fractions, percentages, decimals etc. You will have just four minutes to answer 12 questions. The second part focuses on data interpretation, and includes information such as graphs and tables that you will need to analyse. You will be given just 11 minutes to answer 15 questions.

Royal Air Force Work Rate Tests

This test will present you with a table formed of shape and number codes in a sequence. You will be required to find alternative codes for a given sequence and will have just four minutes to complete 20 questions.

Royal Air Force Spatial Reasoning Tests

This test is split in two parts. The first section will measure your 2D orientation skills by presenting you with broken shapes that you will need to reconstruct. You will have four minutes to complete 10 questions. The second part evaluates your 3D orientation skills by presenting you with 3D shapes from different views. You will be required to choose the set of shapes that changes only the perspective and not the nature or type of shapes. You will have just three minutes to complete 10 questions.

Royal Air Force Electrical Comprehension Tests

This test will evaluate your electrical concept skills and present you with 21 questions to complete in 11 minutes. These concepts are no difficult to that of GCSE-level physics.

Royal Air Force Mechanical Reasoning Tests

This test will evaluate your knowledge of basic mechanical principles such as energy, levers, pulleys, screws, motions and more. You will have 10 minutes to complete 20 questions and the difficulty level is similar to that of GCSE-level physics.

Royal Air Force Memory Tests

This test is split in two parts. Part one requires you to memories a series of letter sequences. You will then be asked 10 questions about the order of letters within the sequence. The second section will present a series of grids, each containing a number of coloured squares. You will be expected to answer 10 subsequent questions asking you to decide which grid is a proper combination of the set of grids displayed in the sequence.

Please be aware that applicants may also be required to complete additional aptitude tests as part of the selection process. These are often held at the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC) at RAF Cranwell.

Practising and Preparing for the RAF Aptitude Test

The AST is taken in the early stages of the selection process. Furthermore, some of the skills you will be evaluated on may not be areas of strength. As such we recommend that you complete as many practice tests as possible prior to your AST, to maximise your chances of being successful. As you can see, time pressure is one of the most challenging aspects of the selection process, and so the more you practice, the better you will become at handling such pressure.