Stonecipher said if the Air Force changes what it wants, Boeing might offer its new 787 model, but the question of when the military would require the planes would be critical as Boeing's initial production is set to go to airlines.
"I suspect they'll go back and re-write the requirements because there will be those people who say...the requirements are tainted," Stonecipher told Reuters in a telephone interview set for publication on Friday.
"We have a whole host of platforms (plane models) we can make tankers out of," he said. "We didn't pick the 767 for a tanker because we wanted to sell 767s, it happened to be the airplane that matched the requirements. If they want a big tanker, we can give them a big tanker."
Former US Air Force arms buyer Darleen Druyun was jailed for conflict-of-interest after negotiating a job for herself at Boeing while overseeing the Air Force's relations with the firm.
Boeing's ex-Chief Financial Officer Mike Sears has pleaded guilty to one felony count of aiding Druyun's illegal hiring and is due to be sentenced in US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Friday.
"We started this thing and have been co-operating right along with the US Attorney and continue to do so," Stonecipher said. "We don't see any surprises coming out of it."
Stonecipher said Boeing will decide whether to halt production of the 767 at mid-year, though will likely not know by then what model the Air Force might want.
"When we talk about stopping production, we'll make the decision about mid-year and it'll be about another 18 months or something before the line stops."
"It's still very clear the US needs tankers," he said, but added he saw no progress from the Air Force before the second half of the year. "I think it's at least mid-year and beyond," he said, adding that actual deliveries could be years off.
He said stopping production would involve a charge similar to the $184 million pretax charge taken after it announced the end of the 757 model in late 2003.
Boeing's new 787 model, due in 2008, is expected to replace the 767 in the civil market.
"Our own airplane will kill the 767 in due course," he said.
But for tankers, Boeing's focus is currently on the 767, with the first one set to be unveiled next week in Italian Air Force colours and sales campaigns underway in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.
Stonecipher said airline orders for the 787 could delay Air Force deliveries if it selects the new model.
"It's pretty far out. First time they could get a tanker on that is probably 2010-11-12, somewhere out there. That's the problem there, because right now, with the sales we've got, the production line is chock-a-block full early on with commercial customers."