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No - although there was a navalized proposal for the F-15, it was esentially designed as a land-based air superiority fighter from the wheels up.[/QUOTE]With hindsight, would it have been a better course of action to have fielded a navalized F-15 instead of the F-14?
This is a similar discussion to the proposition that the P51 could have been adapted for use as a shipboard fighter. Navy tests showed that the Mustang did not have suitable low speed handling for carrier landings plus navalisation and structural changes to the P51 to enable it to withstand the stress of carrier landings would have robbed it of some of it's performance.
A more likely possibility was that the F14 could have assumed the role of the F15. An advantage that the F14 had over the F15 as a strike fighter was that the performance of the F14 was not degraded as much by a heavy load of missiles or bombs because the stores were carried conformally,( in the tunnel.)
If you're referring to the swing wings, how are they a waste? .
Well, the served in air superiority and interceptor roles with the USN, and the swing wings were no disadvantage, so I suppose it's a bit of a moot point?