By Jim Wolf and Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force steered Boeing Co (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to offer its smaller 767 aircraft as a refueling tanker, a company executive said ahead of a Friday meeting with the military on why the $35 billion program went to a bigger aircraft offered by Northrop Grumman (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Europe's EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research).

The choice has enraged many U.S. lawmakers and labor unions who say it threatens to send high-paying aerospace jobs to Europe and rewards EADS' Airbus unit, the subject of a U.S. complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mark McGraw, vice president of Boeing's aerial tanker program, told CNBC television on Thursday that Boeing bid its 767 aircraft based on what the military identified as its needs.

"To some extent, the requirements steered us to (offer) the 767," McGraw said, instead of Boeing's larger 777 aircraft.

When the Air Force announced its choice of the bigger Airbus A330-based tanker last Friday, it praised its greater capacity to carry fuel, cargo and passengers.

Boeing, which meets Air Force officials on Friday over why it lost, "probably" will decide over the weekend whether to file a formal protest, McGraw said.

After the briefing, Boeing has 10 calendar days to file a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

"We want to listen tomorrow," McGraw said. "We do not protest often. We take that decision very seriously because it could have an impact on the men and women of our military."