SENIOR generals and opposition party leaders have called for more helicopters to support troops in Afghanistan, while a fleet of Mark 3 Chinook helicopters gathers dust in a hangar at Boscombe Down.

But the MoD said the Chinooks, which have been lying idle in the special air-conditioned hangar since 2001 when the RAF discovered they did not work properly and were unsuitable for special forces work, would not be going out to troops even when they are ready.

Eight Chinooks were bought to be configured as high-tech Mark 3s, but the MoD cut costs by ordering a one-off ‘hybrid’ digital-analogue cockpit computer system that they then discovered did not work properly.

The helicopters have already cost the taxpayer an estimated £422million, but progress was finally made last month when the first flight testing and evaluation phase was carried out on one of the helicopters and the MoD confirmed that three will be available for use by the end of this year.

They will go to RAF Odiham, near Basingstoke, which is the main base for Chinooks, and will be used, in the short term, for training purposes.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “They have to train up the pilots because of the differences. They have upgraded T55 engines, which have better lift, better endurance and better fuel economy.

“Hopping in the back as a soldier you probably wouldn’t notice any difference, but for the pilots it’s completely different. They’re even having to produce a new syllabus for pilot training.”

The other five Mark 3 helicopters will be brought in gradually throughout 2010 and will be ready to be deployed to troops by the end of 2010, but this will be done at the discretion of the station commander at RAF Odiham.

The Chinooks are deployed on a rolling basis, with a new one replacing one already in the field that needs to come back for repairs. The station commander will have a fleet of 48 Chinooks to choose from and can then send out the Mark 3s but may choose to keep them at the RAF base to allow everyone to be trained to the same level.

The spokesman said: “The bottom line for the troops is are they going to get the helicopter support they require? And the answer is yes.”