The Air Force has revoked the promotions of 135 airmen after discovering that a required promotion exam was scored using an outdated answer key, forcing the service to reshuffle this year's list of technical sergeant selectees.

The error involved the Specialty Knowledge Test for security forces airmen, one of several factors used in determining promotions. The Air Force said the mistake was discovered after the promotion list had already been released.

Officials rescored all 2,285 eligible exams and determined that 135 airmen who had initially been selected for promotion no longer met the cutoff score. Another 135 airmen who were originally passed over will now be promoted instead.

"We owe it to those affected to address it immediately," Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David R. Wolfe said in a statement. "This is going to be hard for everyone impacted."

According to the Air Force, an enlisted promotions team member at the Air Force Personnel Center discovered the incorrect scoring key had been used. After verifying the correct answer key with subject matter experts, officials rescored every eligible exam.

The Air Force said 451 of the original 586 technical sergeant selectees retained their promotions. The overall number of promotions did not change.

Officials described the incident as an isolated case of human error that affected only the security forces career field.

"We promote Airmen based on merit, which is established in federal law and policy," Lt. Gen. Jefferson O'Donnell, the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, said.

"Who we are as an Air Force, defined by our core values, demands integrity in the meritocratic promotion system," O'Donnell added.

The Air Force Personnel Center plans to announce the 135 newly selected technical sergeants in a supplemental promotion release the week of July 13. Officials said the new selectees will receive adjusted line numbers that will not delay their promotions.

The service said commanders are notifying affected airmen directly, have established a hotline to answer questions, and are reviewing procedures to determine how the mistake occurred. Officials also emphasized that the problem resulted from human error, not artificial intelligence.

The promotion shake-up follows other testing controversies in the Air Force.

Last year, the Air Force Academy investigated nearly 100 cadets over allegations of cheating on a weekly knowledge test. In 2021, another scandal involved nearly 250 cadets accused of honor code violations, prompting a broader review of academy programs.