Practice tests
There are two UK armed forces aptitude tests, and the service you apply to decides which one you sit. The Defence Aptitude Assessment is used by the RAF and Royal Navy. The Army Cognitive Test is used by the British Army. Every section below has a free sample.
Not sure which applies to you? Compare the two tests.
DAA practice tests
Practise every section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment sat by RAF and Royal Navy applicants — verbal and numerical reasoning, work rate, spatial reasoning, and mechanical and electrical comprehension.
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 ↗Verbal reasoning
Read a short passage and decide if statements are True, False or Cannot Say — judged only on the text.
Try the free sample →
Numerical reasoning
Fast mental maths — percentages, ratios, averages, speed-distance-time and sequences.
Try the free sample →
Work rate
Process simple information quickly and accurately — decoding, substitution and matching.
Try the free sample →
Spatial reasoning
Practise picturing shapes in 2D and 3D — cube nets, rotations and counting hidden blocks.
Try the free sample →
Mechanical comprehension
Everyday physics — levers, gears, pulleys and forces, worked out from a diagram.
Try the free sample →
Electrical comprehension
Simple circuits — series and parallel, switches, and what happens to the bulbs.
Try the free sample →
Unlock every DAA section for £19.99
One payment unlocks all six full question banks and unlimited mock tests for the Defence Aptitude Assessment — no subscription.
New to the DAA? Start with what's on the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
Army Cognitive Test practice
Practise every section of the Army Cognitive Test — the assessment that replaced the BARB for British Army applicants. Five short, sharply timed sections: deductive reasoning, error detection, number fluency, word rules and orientation.
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 ↗Deductive reasoning
Short relational statements — work out who is taller, faster or older, against a very fast clock.
Try the free sample →
Error detection
BARB-style letter checking — count how many pairs of letters match, ignoring case. Drills attention to detail at speed.
Try the free sample →
Number fluency
Number distance and fast mental arithmetic — no calculator, and no time to write anything down.
Try the free sample →
Word rules
BARB-style odd one out — spot the word that does not belong with the other three.
Try the free sample →
Orientation
BARB-style symbol rotation — decide whether the second symbol is the first turned round, or a mirror image.
Try the free sample →
Unlock every ACT section for £19.99
One payment unlocks all five full question banks and unlimited mock tests for the Army Cognitive Test — no subscription.
New to the ACT? Start with what's on the Army Cognitive Test.