'Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do': Robots star in new Army recruitment ad

The British Army has launched a new recruitment drive featuring robots, claiming 'Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do', despite new battle technologies.

A one-minute video advert, which will be shown in cinemas, on television and online, shows a dystopian future where a robotic soldier scouts the terrain of a conflict zone, made of more than 4,000 individual CGI elements and 2,000 sound design samples.

The ending shows that while technology is important, only soldiers can make instinctive decisions on the ground in a conflict zone, and the future of UK defence will be underpinned by soldiers.

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As part of the drive, striking images of soldiers and robots will be displayed on billboards.

Private James Wright, one of the soldiers who was able to have a first look at the new ad, said he thought it was "very good".

"At the beginning, it may have seemed the Army was going to take in this whole new approach... but then, at the end, it's all about just reinforcing the fact that the Army is built around the soldiers," he explained.

The campaign is the sixth iteration of the "This is Belonging" series developed by Accenture Song together with the British Army and Capita, the firm behind Army recruitment.

Colonel Nick Mackenzie, assistant director of recruiting, said: "Like previous recruitment campaigns, Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do aims to dispel one of the many myths that surround the British Army, this time, looking at the British Army of the future and the role of soldiers within it.

"We want to tell future recruits that, no matter what technological advancements we make, it is the judgment, intelligence and even the wit of our soldiers that is indispensable to the future of the Army.

"We hope the campaign will lead to potential applicants seeing the Army as an exciting place they can learn and grow, and be valued as an integral part in our future," he added.

WATCH: Robots star in new Army recruitment campaign.

Richard Holroyd, managing director of Capita Defence, Fire and Security, said: "While we live more of our lives online and increasingly in augmented realities, it's easy to believe that the future of any armed force is now about mass robotic units managed by unfeeling AI.

"As a former soldier, I know that will simply never be the case. Technology must work alongside the human ingenuity of soldiers and personnel – the Army of the future still needs you."

Damian Riley, CEO Army Recruiting Group, said: "Fundamentally, it is all about our ability to delivery those [recruitment] numbers to the Army."