I thought they took away the "Breast Cup" looking intakes from the Super Hornet and made them look more like those of the F-14 &/or F-15 more squared off and larger
the older / 1st generation hornets had the curved looking intakes iirc......... hmmm........
TC
The "squared" intakes of the F-18 (and I'd assume similar to the F-15) are only square in apearance at the front head-on angle. From that point onward, the intakes are very aerodynamicly honed/curved to fit the shape and aerodynamic properties of the aircraft and powerplants. They're each a mini over-engineered wind tube/tunnel. In comparison, the old intakes on the F-18 were essentialy a stove pipe that was split in half length-wise and slapped onto the rear underside. Yes, they were curved much like any half tube is, but otherwise they were very straight and simple in deisgn and function. At the straight 90-degree side angle, the opening is still kinda squared, but agressively slanted. At any other angle or point you look at the intake design/flow and it is extremely un-boxy or rigid and extensively aerodynamicly engineered.
I would compare them to water slides most similarly these days, even the materials are similar. A few decades ago, a simple straight metal half-tube/pipe and garden hose did the trick and would get the kids going down it all weekend. Nowadays, the standard is some carbon-fiber-composite, fancy wide launches/scoops to start from, a design that curves and gets gradually narrower (and faster for the rider) twords the bottom, variable-rate water dispersion nozzles strategicly places along the entire length... yup, it's a lot like water slides lol, the ones these days are a heckuva lot fancier and have a lot more bells and whistles than the ol' stormwater culverts we'd drag home and jimmy-rig up in our backyards - but they're also a heckuva lot faster, safer and probabley fun too.
