Alongside the theoretical research undertaken by ONERA, Avions Marcel Dassault began studies of a Mirage variant.

In 1964 they proposed the model MD800 for a carrier-based two-seat, twin-engined Naval version to meet the DAFNE requirement.

Its rollout in 1967, at much the same time as the larger AFVG was cancelled, led to accusations by the British that Dasault had been undermining them all along.

[5][3] The G8 was equipped with Thomson-CSF radar and a low-altitude navigational-attack system based on that used in the SEPECAT Jaguar and Dassault Milan.

[2][3] As no funding was included for the Mirage G8 in the 1971-1976 French defence budget the aircraft did not enter production.

[2] Flight trials were relatively successful but no production order ensued, the Mirage G programme being cancelled in 1968.

In the late 1960s, the US manufacturer Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) was seeking technical data on variable-geometry wings, within the framework of a bid for the US Navy's VFX carrier fighter contract.

Two agreements were signed by Dassault and LTV in 1968: one for general cooperation and the other specifically in regard to variable-geometry wings.