Prepare for the Defence Aptitude Assessment with confidence
The DAA decides which RAF and Royal Navy roles you qualify for. Practise the abilities all six sections assess with original timed questions and a worked answer for every one.
Joining the British Army instead? You sit a different test — practise the Army Cognitive Test.
Sum the letters in “BEAD”
A simple rule applied fast, over and over, without slipping.
Which face is opposite 3? ?
Fold it in your head, then read off the hidden face.
How many pairs match? Case does not count
0
Easy questions, brutal clock. That is the whole test.
Try the official free practice first
The Royal Navy publishes free official DAA familiarisation questions that show the real question formats and the time allowed for each part. Try them first — our practice is extra drilling for the same abilities, not a copy of the real test.
Open the Royal Navy DAA familiarisation questions ↗Try the official free practice first
The Army's official free ACT practice questions (run by Mindmill) show the real question formats, and you can try them as often as you like. Do them first — several of our sections use older BARB-style formats, so treat our practice as extra speed-and-accuracy drilling rather than a copy of the real test.
Open the official Army Cognitive Test practice questions ↗Which test will you sit?
The service you apply to decides it for you — you do not get to choose.
Defence Aptitude Assessment
Six separately timed sections, including mechanical and electrical comprehension. £19.99 unlocks every one.
See the six sections →
British ArmyArmy Cognitive Test
The test that replaced the BARB. Five short, sharply timed sections. £19.99 unlocks every one.
Practise the ACT →
How the DAA fits into joining up
Apply & get your link
Apply to the RAF or Royal Navy. When you reach the DAA stage, a link arrives in your candidate portal (the Royal Navy says it stays valid for 14 days) and you can sit it at home or arrange to sit it at your Careers Office.
Sit the six sections
The DAA is one online, multiple-choice test in a single sitting. The Royal Navy's familiarisation page lists 128 questions across eight timed parts, about 70 minutes of testing in all. No calculator, but paper and pencil are allowed.
Score for your role
Different roles need different section scores. The higher you score, the more roles open up — so practice pays off directly.
Practise all six sections
Try a free sample of each, then unlock the full banks and unlimited mock tests.
Verbal reasoning
Read a short passage and decide if statements are True, False or Cannot Say — judged only on the text.
Numerical reasoning
Fast mental maths — percentages, ratios, averages, speed-distance-time and sequences.
Work rate
Process simple information quickly and accurately — decoding, substitution and matching.
Spatial reasoning
Practise picturing shapes in 2D and 3D — cube nets, rotations and counting hidden blocks.
Mechanical comprehension
Everyday physics — levers, gears, pulleys and forces, worked out from a diagram.
Electrical comprehension
Simple circuits — series and parallel, switches, and what happens to the bulbs.
Everything you need in one place
One payment unlocks every section's full question bank, unlimited randomised mock tests and an explanation for every answer. No subscription — yours for good.
One payment · all six sections · 14-day money-back guarantee
Original practice questions — not the official test. Forces Ready is independent and not affiliated with the RAF, Royal Navy, British Army or MOD.
- ✓Verbal & numerical reasoning — The two sections that gate the most roles
- ✓Work rate — Build speed and accuracy under the clock
- ✓Spatial reasoning — Cube nets, rotations and block-counting with diagrams (the real DAA's spatial formats differ — see the official questions)
- ✓Mechanical & electrical — Gears, levers, pulleys and simple circuits, explained
Why practise before the DAA?
It sets your career options
Your section scores decide which trades and branches you can apply for. A better result means more choice.
It's fast and unforgiving
Every section is tightly timed with no calculator. Familiarity with the format is half the battle.
Walk in prepared first time
Re-sit rules are set by the services and can change, so ask your careers adviser. It's worth being fully prepared the first time.