For 12th science students, who want to join IAF right after completing 12th standard, NDA is the point of entrance. NDA is the door through which you should enter.
NDA stands for National Defence Academy. It is a premier Defence Institute located in Pune, India. It is an institute where the cadets belonging to the 3 wings of the Armed Forces- Army, Navy and Air Force train together.
To get into NDA, one must appear for the National Defence Academy entrance exam and clear the SSB (Services Selection Board) Interview. There is an age limit too, for appearing for this exam and getting admitted into this institute.
Candidates must not be older than 19 years of age, at the commencement of the course at NDA. Thus, an interested candidate may appear for this exam while he is appearing in 12th standard, finished 12th standard etc. But please keep the age limit in mind!
After clearing the NDA written exam and the SSB interview, recommended candidates will have to appear for PABT (Pilot Aptitude Battery Test). PABT test is once in a lifetime test and is meant to check whether a candidate has the potential to become a good pilot or not!
Those who clear PABT are then sent for medical examinations. In case of Air Force candidates, medical examination will be thorough. Air Force demands more, in terms of physical and medical requirements, when compared to other wings of the Armed Forces.
The candidates who make it through the medical tests are then taken into consideration for making the merit list. And on the merit list, the marks a candidate scored in NDA written test, SSB Interview and Medical examination is taken into account.
And based on this merit list, students are accepted into the Air Force wing. After this selection, they’ll be given training at NDA for 3 years, along with Army and Navy Cadets. See, I told you that in NDA, cadets of all three wings train together.
On successfully completing the 3 year course at NDA, the Air Force cadets are sent to Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, for further training that lasts 1 year.
It is after successfully completing this training that they are commissioned as Flying Officers in the Indian Air Force. We hope that you understood the whole process and journey of a potential cadet from 12th standard to Air Force Academy!
Download Best Defence Exams Books, Study Notes & More..