For more than a year, The Boeing Co. has made it clear that if the Air Force wants a bigger tanker than the 767, it has just such a plane — the 777, which last year set a commercial sales record.

Tuesday, just one day after the Air Force issued a draft request for tanker bids, Boeing began publicly trumpeting the benefits of a 777 tanker.

Boeing used an Air Force Association convention in Washington, D.C., to brief reporters for the first time on the KC-777 tanker, which could substitute as a military cargo or troop plane.

Both the 777 and 767 commercial jets are assembled at Boeing’s plant in Everett, and the tankers also would be built there. Much of the modification work required to turn the base planes into tankers also would be done at the Everett plant on dedicated tanker-assembly lines.

Mark McGraw, Boeing’s vice president of tanker programs, told reporters that Boeing won’t decide until later, after receiving the final request for proposals from the Air Force, whether to initially offer the Air Force the 767 or 777.

Look for Boeing to keep that information secret until it submits its proposal to the Air Force next year.

Tanker comparsion