Britain's embattled soldiers in Afghanistan will have to wait a year for the extra helicopters they need now, and up to two years for vital new Chinook troop-transports, The Herald can reveal.

Despite then Prime Minister Tony Blair's promise last year that the garrison in Helmand province would have any resources they asked for, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the first possible front-line deployment of Merlin helicopters bought in an emergency purchase from Denmark in March will be in 2008.

Another eight Chinook aircraft bought in a procurement fiasco for the UK's special forces five years ago are to be refurbished at a cost of more than £100m, but cannot enter service before 2009 at the earliest.

The eight helicopters cost the taxpayer £259m when they were ordered from Boeing in 1995. By the time they had been built to MoD specifications and delivered seven years later, the RAF discovered their onboard computer software could not pass stringent safety tests.

The versatile Chinook Mark 3s have since been grounded and cannibalised for spare parts. None has ever flown above 500ft and then only in clear weather.

Meanwhile, the Special Boat Service commando killed in a firefight with Taliban insurgents on Sunday was named yesterday as Lance-Corporal Michael Jones, from Newbald, East Yorkshire.

His death brought the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 68, all but five of whom have died since the start of 2006.

L/Cpl Jones, 25, joined the Royal Marines in 1999 and had since taken part in operations in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He died in a firefight in Nimruz province, west of the main British zone of responsibility. Three other SBS commandos were wounded in the mission to target Taliban insurgents planning an ambush against Afghan government and other coalition forces.

His commanding officer, who cannot be named for security reasons, said last night: "Michael was a truly exceptional junior NCO - the best at his level - who unflinchingly stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his friends in the very worst of conditions.

"It will be impossible to replace him. His selfless bravery in assaulting a formidable Taliban position is an example to us all."

The secretive SBS, the Marines' version of the SAS, has fewer than 250 members in its fighting squadrons. It has been heavily involved in Iraq, where it has special forces' responsibility for Basra, leaving the overstretched SAS to handle clandestine operations north of Baghdad.

An MoD source said yesterday: "As far as support helicopter provision in Helmand is concerned, we keep force levels and commanders' requirements under constant review. The appropriate number of platforms is currently available for operational needs."

The 7100-strong UK contingent in Helmand has just eight Chinooks for troop transport missions, two of which were drafted in last year from the Falkland Islands garrison and a training squadron in England.

Part of the problem - apart from finding uncommitted helicopters able to cope with the hot, thin air and dust of Afghanistan - is scraping enough ground crews together to keep them serviceable.