The PAV's used very simple fixed geometry air intakes which snaked inwards and upwards from the leading edge of the wing. The intake geometry was optimised to provide the necessary shock waves for slowing engine air without the use of variable geometry ramps. Boundary layer air extraction was accomplished by a large finely holed gauze panel located on the roof of the intake at its mouth. There was a secondary vertically-oriented gauze panel located on the inside of the inner wall of the intake, aligned with the rear of the main panel. This excess air was ducted overboard though 2 exit doors and a flush-mounted exit located on the top of the wing. The intakes used on the PAV's were not optimised for stealth and were a cruder configuration than what would have been used on the F-23A EMD variant. Consequently the engine fan blades can be clearly seen from certain angles, and some of the corners of the intake are vertical rather than sloped. The configuration of the intakes on PAV-1 and -2 was indentical, there were no changes for either engine.

Not all the vents and appatures were shaped for stealth: some were quite conventional. Northrop put most of its stealth effort into the EMD proposal when it came to detail design refinement. The panel lines on the PAV's almost completely ignored the requirements for stealth: ie. angular alignment.