Closure of the runway means 700 USAF personnel from 100th Air Refuelling Wing will have to move to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire between March and September that year.

Other staff will be asked to carry out their duties at RAF Lakenheath. The helicopters of the 352nd Special Operations Group will continue to fly from RAF Mildenhall.

The runway project is part of a multi-million pound renovation scheme to improve facilities at the air base, parts of which date back to the 1930s.

Cassandra Davis, deputy base civil engineer, said: "Despite all the resurfacing work we have carried out over the years everything comes to the end of its life cycle.

"The sub-structure of the runway has now reached a stage where it needs replacing. It is not stable and when we replace the asphalt, with the weight of the planes, it just cracks and moves.

"We replace the asphalt every 12 to 15 years, just like you do on the roads, but this time we are taking out the whole thing."

The work, which will take 25 weeks to complete, is being funded by the U.S. Government and NATO.

A new 105ft air traffic control tower, together with a fire station and a base operations room, is currently under construction.

The complex, costing £7.5 million will be completed in time for the re-opening of the runway. It has been designed to look like a Norman church tower to fit in with the surrounding countryside.

Lt Col Steve Donovan, chief of wing plans at RAF Mildenhall, has the task of organising the closure of the runway and where the aircraft will go.

He said: "We started work on this project two years ago. It takes a long time because there are a lot of different people and other airfields involved."

It will cost between £4-6 million to move the aircraft, their crew and support staff for the 25- week closure.