In June 1975, with tension growing with Morocco, Spain decided to strengthen its Air Force and bought 15 Mirage F1C that were allocated to Albacete AB.
In mid-1976 there was still some tension with Morocco and Algerian and Libyan MiG-25 flights on the Mediterranean, which would lead the Spanish Air Force to purchase ten more Mirage F1C and two years later order 48 Mirage F1C and F1E.
Some years later Spain also bought 12 F1EDA/DDA's retired from Qatar Air Force, which donated some equipment and weapons used by those Mirage F1s.
In Spanish service the F1CE was known as the C.14A, the F1EE was the C.14B and the two-seater F1EDA as the C.14C.
They served mainly as Spain's primary air defence interceptors and interdiction as secondary role until they were superseded by Spain's EF-18A Hornets.
They served with Ala 11 (11th Wing) in Manises (Ex-Qatari planes), Ala 14 in Albacete, and Ala 46 at Gando in the Canary Islands.
Ala 46 used their Mirage F1s mainly as air defence planes, using same deep blue color pattern as French planes.

In October 1996, Thomson-CSF was awarded a FFr700 million (US$96m) contract to upgrade 48 F1C/E single-seaters and 4 F1EDA trainers to Mirage F1M standard (see below).
Ex-Qatar Mirage F1s were left outside the upgrade, as it was a different version, and were the first ones to be retired.
As well as a service-life extension, this improved the avionics and added anti-shipping capability with a modernised Cyrano IVM radar and Exocet compatibility.

From July 2006 to November 2006, Spanish Mirage F1s were deployed to Lithuania as a part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission; during this deployment, they were scrambled twice to intercept undisclosed intruders.
On 20 January 2009, a pair of Spanish F1s from the 14th Wing crashed near their base during a routine Spanish Air Force dogfight training mission, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members.
The wreckage of the two jets, including the remains of the aircrew, was found about 3 km (1.9 mi) apart.
By 2009, there were 38 F1M's in service with Escuadrón 141 (141st Squadron) "Patanes" and Escuadrón 142 (142nd Squadron) "Tigres" of Ala 14.

In 2013, the Spanish Air Force retired its fleet of Mirage F1s, having progressively phased the type out of service as increasing numbers of the Eurofighter Typhoon had become available.
During 2013, it was reported that Spain may sell sixteen F1M's to Argentina but it seems they now have the budget to buy new Kfirs instead.
The deal went through and Argentina bought the Spanish Mirages in October 2013, but the deal was scrapped in March 2014 after pressure from the United Kingdom on Spain to not assist in FAA modernization over tensions between the countries over the Falkland Islands.
In November 2017, Draken International announced that it had acquired 22 F1Ms from Spain and would refurbish and upgrade them for use as adversary aircraft.
In June 1975, with tension growing with Morocco, Spain decided to strengthen its Air Force and bought 15 Mirage F1C that were allocated to Albacete AB. In mid-1976 there was still some tension with Morocco and Algerian and Libyan MiG-25 flights on the Mediterranean, which would lead the Spanish Air Force to purchase ten more Mirage F1C and two years later order 48 Mirage F1C and F1E.
Some years later Spain also bought 12 F1EDA/DDA's retired from Qatar Air Force, which donated some equipment and weapons used by those Mirage F1s. In Spanish service the F1CE was known as the C.14A, the F1EE was the C.14B and the two-seater F1EDA as the C.14C.
They served mainly as Spain's primary air defence interceptors and interdiction as secondary role until they were superseded by Spain's EF-18A Hornets. They served with Ala 11 (11th Wing) in Manises (Ex-Qatari planes), Ala 14 in Albacete, and Ala 46 at Gando in the Canary Islands. Ala 46 used their Mirage F1s mainly as air defence planes, using same deep blue color pattern as French planes.
In October 1996, Thomson-CSF was awarded a FFr700 million (US$96m) contract to upgrade 48 F1C/E single-seaters and 4 F1EDA trainers to Mirage F1M standard (see below). Ex-Qatar Mirage F1s were left outside the upgrade, as it was a different version, and were the first ones to be retired. As well as a service-life extension, this improved the avionics and added anti-shipping capability with a modernised Cyrano IVM radar and Exocet compatibility.
From July 2006 to November 2006, Spanish Mirage F1s were deployed to Lithuania as a part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission; during this deployment, they were scrambled twice to intercept undisclosed intruders. On 20 January 2009, a pair of Spanish F1s from the 14th Wing crashed near their base during a routine Spanish Air Force dogfight training mission, resulting in the deaths of all three crew members. The wreckage of the two jets, including the remains of the aircrew, was found about 3 km (1.9 mi) apart. By 2009, there were 38 F1M's in service with Escuadrón 141 (141st Squadron) "Patanes" and Escuadrón 142 (142nd Squadron) "Tigres" of Ala 14.
In 2013, the Spanish Air Force retired its fleet of Mirage F1s, having progressively phased the type out of service as increasing numbers of the Eurofighter Typhoon had become available. During 2013, it was reported that Spain may sell sixteen F1M's to Argentina but it seems they now have the budget to buy new Kfirs instead. The deal went through and Argentina bought the Spanish Mirages in October 2013, but the deal was scrapped in March 2014 after pressure from the United Kingdom on Spain to not assist in FAA modernization over tensions between the countries over the Falkland Islands. In November 2017, Draken International announced that it had acquired 22 F1Ms from Spain and would refurbish and upgrade them for use as adversary aircraft.
Dassault Mirage F1