Designed as a replacement for the Mirage III series, the Dassualt Mirage F1 was a completely new development which strayed from the traditional tail-less delta configuration of its predecessor and instead was based on the larger Mirage F2 concept which had been designed previously by Dassault. This new airframe resulted in a design which in most respects was vastly superior to the Mirage III, especially in aerodynamic efficiency, maneuvrability and fuel consumption. The Mirage F1 was also provided with considerable ground-attack capability making it a true multi-role aircraft in its own right. Like most French aircraft, it achieved tremendous export success serving with Ecuador, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Spain and Iraq, the last using it in anger with the deadly Exocet anti-ship missile in the infamous attack on the USS Stark in addition to extensive operations during the Iran-Iraq War. The Mirage F1 was the most widely used French fighter in the Armée de l'Air until the Mirage 2000 entered service in the 1980s, many are still in use worldwide.

The prototype Mirage F1 had its first flight on 23 December 1966, it entered service as the Mirage F1C in service with the Armée de l'Air. Most of these have been upgraded with a removable air-refueling probe and are now known as the Mirage F1C-200. Two variants were built explicitly for export: a dedicated multi-role fighter known as the Mirage F1E featured a different avionics set and a different weapons load than the F1C while a downgraded version, the Mirage F1A, had reduced systems but increased range. Trainer versions are known as the Mirage F1B and Mirage F1D, these are based on the F1C and F1E respectively. Subsequent upgrades and modifications include the Mirage F1C-200 with an aerial refuelling probe (some were new builds) and the Mirage F1CT ground attacker (also known as the Mirage F1CT-200 with a refuelling probe). Finally, the Mirage F1R is a tactical reconnaissance variant which is armed equipped with a wide range of optical cameras and sensors.