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In 1964, the French defense ministry requested
a development program on variable-sweep wing aircraft for dual land and
aircraft carrier use. An order for an experimental prototype was placed
to Dassault in 1965. Dassault emerged the variable-sweep aircraft
as the two-seat Mirage G4 fighter in 1967, essentially a swept
wing version of the Mirage F2. While the aircraft were under
construction the requirements changed and the French military requested
that the design be converted into a dedicated interceptor. Mirage G4 was
redesignated G8-01. The two-seat aircraft made its first flight in 1971
with the second aircraft, G8-02 becoming a single-seat version, that
first flight in 1972. The G8 variants were equipped with Thomson-CSF
radar and a low-altitude navigational-attack system based on that used
in the Dassault Milan. As no funding was included for the Mirage G8 in
the 1971-1976 French defense budget, the aircraft did not enter
production.
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