Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA) Practice for the RAF, Royal Navy and Royal Marines
One test, eight clocks, six results. Practise every section of the DAA at the official question counts and time limits, with Back, Next and a summary screen as the real one has, and feedback that names the part that cost you marks.
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DAA Work Rate
Twenty code-substitution questions in 4 minutes, 12 seconds each. Find the one option that swaps every symbol of a three-part code for another symbol from the same column of the grid, in the code's order. Mirrors the Work Rate section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
Premium Tests
DAA Verbal Reasoning
Four short scenarios, 20 questions, 15 minutes. Not passage comprehension: match people or things to requirements, work out preferences, apply a table of rules with exceptions, and deduce who is where, with "Cannot tell" a live answer. Mirrors the first section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment used by the RAF, Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
DAA Numerical Reasoning
Two separately timed parts, no calculator: 12 fraction, decimal and equation questions in 4 minutes, then 15 graph and table questions in 11 minutes. Mirrors the Numerical Reasoning section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
DAA Spatial Reasoning
Two separately timed parts: join flat shapes by their labelled sides (10 in 4 minutes), then spot which turned pair of block objects keeps both marked corners (10 in 3 minutes). Mirrors the Spatial Reasoning section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
DAA Electrical Comprehension
Twenty-two questions in 15 minutes on batteries, circuits and switches: current and voltage, conductors, series and parallel bulbs, meter readings and which switches light which bulbs, many of them drawn. Mirrors the Electrical Comprehension section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
DAA Mechanical Comprehension
Nineteen questions in 13 minutes on gears, belts, pulleys, levers, springs, pressure and forces, plus workshop tools and engineering drawing scales. Many are drawn. Mirrors the Mechanical Comprehension section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment.
Is this the right test?
Yes, this page is for you
Your RAF, Royal Navy or Royal Marines candidate portal says Defence Aptitude Assessment or DAA. Older guides may call it the Airman Selection Test (AST) or, for the Navy, the Naval Service Recruiting Test (NSRT): both were replaced by the DAA in 2022.
No, the British Army is different
The Army does not use the DAA. It runs its own online aptitude test, with no mechanical or electrical sections. See our British Army practice instead.
No, aircrew tests come later
RAF aircrew sit the Computer Based Aptitude Tests at the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre, and Royal Navy aircrew the Flying Aptitude Tests. Both come after the DAA, are supervised and partly hand-eye coordination, and we do not simulate them.
Eight timed parts, six results
Straight from the official familiarisation test, which the RAF and the Royal Navy both host. Numerical and Spatial Reasoning each run as two parts with their own clocks but are reported as one result each. The pace ranges from 45 seconds a question to 12, so a candidate who keeps one pace for the whole sitting is wrong on most of it.
- 1Verbal ReasoningFour scenarios: matching, preferences, rules tables and who is where20 questions, 15 minabout 45 seconds each
- 2Numerical Reasoning part 1Fractions, decimals, percentages and simple equations12 questions, 4 minabout 20 seconds each
- 3Numerical Reasoning part 2Graphs and tables, speed and time, a wrong figure to find15 questions, 11 minabout 44 seconds each
- 4Work RateSwap a three-symbol code for alternatives from a grid20 questions, 4 minabout 12 seconds each
- 5Spatial Reasoning part 1Join flat shapes by their labelled sides10 questions, 4 minabout 24 seconds each
- 6Spatial Reasoning part 2Check the marked corners on two turned objects10 questions, 3 minabout 18 seconds each
- 7Electrical ComprehensionBatteries, circuits, switches, meters and safety22 questions, 15 minabout 41 seconds each
- 8Mechanical ComprehensionGears, pulleys, levers, pressure, tools and drawings19 questions, 13 minabout 41 seconds each
128 questions and 69 minutes of timed work in total.
How the DAA works, and what we are not certain about
It decides which roles you can apply for, not whether you pass. There is no single pass mark. Each role sets its own standard for each section, your results come back section by section, and your careers adviser tells you which roles they open. The MOD does not publish the standards. One candidate report describes an overall threshold as well as the section ones; no official page confirms or denies it.
Who sits it, and when. Stage 1 for RAF Enlisted Aviators, officers and aircrew, before the Selection Interview, the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre or the aircrew tests. Step 2 for Royal Navy ratings and officers and for Royal Marines, after the application form and before the Selection Interview or the Admiralty Interview Board. RAF Reserves applicants sit it too.
Where you sit it. The link arrives in your candidate portal and stays valid for 14 days. Sit it at home on your own device, or at an Armed Forces Careers Office on theirs. Once started it must be finished in one sitting.
No calculator, and no published deduction. Paper and pencil are allowed. The official familiarisation marks correct answers only, and the advice is to answer as many questions as you can, so a blank can only cost you. Our tests mark the same way.
Free navigation within a part. The official familiarisation has Back and Next on every question and a summary screen at the end of each part, with a Re-visit action per question and a Submit button. We reproduce that. The familiarisation also lets you finish after its clock stops, but says the real test is strictly timed, so our parts end at zero.
The real test is not sat on a phone. This practice can be. The DAA must be taken on a screen of at least 10.2 inches and the MOD says it is optimised for laptops and desktops. Every practice test here works properly on a phone, because revising on the way to work is real, but a phone result, especially on the 12-second Work Rate questions, is revision rather than a like-for-like rehearsal. Sit your last practice runs on a laptop.
Our questions are our own. The familiarisation is Crown copyright and says copying any part of it is against the law, so every scenario, grid, picture, drawing and chart here is written or generated from scratch to the same patterns. Our Spatial part 2 uses block shapes where the familiarisation draws lorries.
What the DAA is not. The RAF's Computer Based Aptitude Tests and the Royal Navy's Flying Aptitude Tests are aircrew tests sat later, supervised and partly psychomotor. The Navy's published Flying Aptitude Test standards are stanines across seven domains, which is not how the DAA reports. The Admiralty Interview Board and the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre are assessed by people, and the fitness test is physical. We do not simulate any of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Defence Aptitude Assessment?
128 multiple-choice questions in eight separately timed parts, 69 minutes of timed work. The Royal Navy tells candidates to allow about 90 minutes in total, including the instruction screens between parts.
What is the DAA pass mark?
There is no single pass mark. Each role sets its own standard for each section: the RAF says its roles are "all requiring different scores on the DAA" and the Royal Navy that requirements "differ by Profession and Specialisation". After the test your careers adviser explains which roles your results make you eligible for.
Can I use a calculator in the DAA?
No, and not a multi-function watch either. Paper and pencil are allowed for your working, so have them ready when you practise too.
Can I take the DAA on my phone?
No. The real test must be taken on a screen of at least 10.2 inches, at home on your own laptop, tablet or PC, or at an Armed Forces Careers Office on a service device. Practising on a phone is fine, but a phone result is revision rather than a like-for-like rehearsal.
Is the DAA the same as the RAF Airmen Selection Test?
Yes, renamed. The RAF says "The DAA (previously called the Airmen Selection Test)", and the old AST practice test had the same eight parts plus two memory parts that the DAA dropped. The Royal Navy used a different test, the Naval Service Recruiting Test, until the DAA replaced it in 2022.
Do officers take the DAA?
Yes. It is stage 1 for RAF officer and aircrew applicants, and Royal Navy officers take it before the Admiralty Interview Board. RAF aircrew then sit separate computer-based aptitude tests at the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre, which are not the DAA.
What happens if I do not get the score I need?
In 2022 the Royal Navy allowed a retake after 28 days, a maximum of two attempts, and held results for up to 36 months; you can also discuss the other roles your results qualify you for. The RAF does not publish its rule on the pages we could read, so ask your careers office.
Are wrong answers penalised?
The MOD does not publish any deduction, and its own advice is to answer as many questions as you can in the time allowed. A blank can only cost you, so our practice tests do not deduct marks either.
Does the British Army use the DAA?
No. The Army runs its own online aptitude test, which is a different battery with no mechanical or electrical sections. See our British Army practice for that one.
Companies That Use the Defence Aptitude Assessment
The Defence Aptitude Assessment is not sold to employers. It is the Ministry of Defence's own aptitude test, Crown copyright, and three services set it as the first assessment in their own applications. The British Army is not among them: it runs a different test.
Royal Air Force
Armed ForcesStage 1 for RAF Enlisted Aviators, officers and aircrew applicants, and sat by RAF Reserves applicants. Aircrew then sit separate computer-based aptitude tests at the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre.
View Royal Air Force guide →Royal Navy
Armed ForcesStep 2 for ratings and officers, after the application form. Officers sit it before the Admiralty Interview Board. It replaced the Naval Service Recruiting Test in 2022.
View Royal Navy guide →Royal Marines
Armed ForcesStep 2 of the Royal Marines Commando joining process, before the Selection Interview, set through the Royal Navy's recruiting process.
Each service decides for itself which roles need which results, and none publishes its standards. Your careers adviser explains which roles your results open.
Guides and Tips
Read up before you practise: what the tests reward, what catches candidates out, and why shortcuts do not work.
DAA Verbal Reasoning test: how it works
Verbal Reasoning is the first section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA): 20 questions in 15 minutes, set on four short scenarios that work more like puzzles than reading passages.
Can You Cheat the DAA? Scores Decide Your Role
Section by section, the DAA decides which roles are open to you. Why a borrowed score is a trap rather than a shortcut.
DAA Numerical Reasoning test: how it works
Numerical Reasoning is the second section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment, sat in two timed parts: quick fractions and decimals, then questions on graphs and tables, with no calculator.
The Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA): Eight Clocks, Six Results and No Pass Mark
The aptitude test for almost every RAF, Royal Navy and Royal Marines role is six sections sat as eight separate clocks, and its results decide which roles you can apply for rather than whether you pass. Part by part, what it asks and how to prepare.
DAA Work Rate test: how it works
Work Rate is the fastest section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment: 20 code-swapping questions in 4 minutes, each against its own grid of letters, numbers and pictures.
DAA Spatial Reasoning test: how it works
Spatial Reasoning is the fourth section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment, in two timed parts: join flat shapes by their labelled sides, then spot which turned pair of objects keeps both marked corners.
DAA Electrical Comprehension test: how it works
Electrical Comprehension is the fifth section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment: 22 questions in 15 minutes on batteries, circuits and switches, many of them drawn.
DAA Mechanical Comprehension test: how it works
Mechanical Comprehension is the last section of the Defence Aptitude Assessment: 19 questions in 13 minutes on machines, forces and workshop practice.
Practice by Test Type
Compare the same format across every provider that uses it, and see what each one is really measuring.
Numerical Reasoning Test Practice
Tables, charts, percentages and ratios against the clock. The most common screening test on graduate schemes and analyst roles.
Verbal Reasoning Test Practice
Short dense passages and true, false or cannot say answers. Judged on what the text supports, never on what you already know.
Logical Reasoning Test Practice
The umbrella name on many invitations. Covers the four rule-based formats and how to tell which one you have actually been sent.
Spatial Reasoning Test Practice
Turn, fold, mirror and assemble shapes in your head. Set for engineering, military and aviation roles and inside general ability tests.
Mechanical Reasoning Test Practice
Drawn gears, pulleys, levers and fluids. Predict which way things turn, what balances and what moves fastest.
About CogniPrep Defence Aptitude Assessment Practice
CogniPrep provides practice for the Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA), the aptitude test the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines set at the first assessment stage for almost every role. The DAA is the Ministry of Defence's own test, not a commercial product, and it is the former RAF Airmen Selection Test with its two memory parts removed, adopted by the Naval Service in 2022 in place of the Naval Service Recruiting Test. It is six sections sat as eight separately timed parts, 128 five-option questions in 69 minutes, with no calculator. Results are reported section by section and each role sets its own standard.
- 7 practice tests: the six sections and the full eight-part sitting, which can be paused between sections
- Official counts and clocks for every part, from the RAF and Royal Navy familiarisation test
- Back, Next and a summary screen within each part; each part ends when its clock reaches zero
- No deduction for wrong answers; no calculator
- Verbal, Numerical, Work Rate and Spatial questions generated fresh every sitting
- Electrical and Mechanical questions drawn from original banks, half of them as diagrams
- Feedback that reports your raw mark out of the real section length and names what cost you marks
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