The military is already using unmanned aircraft, but commercial flights are gunning for the technology next.

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Love being the first on the plane? Soon you could board long before the pilot. That's because he won't ever step foot inside the aircraft. He'll do his job from the ground.

The military is already using unmanned aircraft, but commercial flights are gunning for the technology next. American aviation chiefs have asked the U.S. government to integrate pilotless aircraft into the air-traffic control systems as early as 2015. Analysts predict the industry could pull in $50 billion by 2020. These planes could come to market faster than the driverless Google cars.

The technology could go beyond commercial flights. Experts say these aircraft could keep humans out of vulnerable situations. Instead of sending firefighters into smoldering forest fires, unmanned planes would take on the flames. Instead of police in choppers trailing armed criminals, pilotless aircraft could perform surveillance from the sky.

In the next few weeks, an unmanned commuter plane with take a test flight in the U.K. Read more about how the upcoming flight could change air travel in .

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