Hawker Siddeley much larger firms. Out of this decision, came the "order" that all future contracts being offered had to include agreements to merge companies. In 1959, Folland Aircraft was acquired, followed by de Havilland Aircraft Company and Blackburn Aircraft in 1960. In 1963, the names of the constituent companies were dropped, with products being rebranded as ""Hawker Siddeley"" or ""HS"". In this period, the company developed the first operational, and, by far, the most successful VTOL jet aircraft, the Harrier family. This aircraft remained in production into the 1990s and remains in service. In 1948, Hawker Siddeley acquired a factory in
Hawker Beechcraft to the bankruptcy court to sell off 20 Hawker 4000s, comprising 13 finished new 4000s, three being built and four used aircraft, at heavily discounted prices to raise money for the company. Existing owners of the aircraft type objected, indicating that this move would greatly devalue their assets. Bankruptcy judge Stuart Bernstein rejected the sale, stating that Hawker Beechcraft had not made a case for the discounted sale being necessary. On December 11, 2012 the judge reversed the order and permitted the sale of the 20 aircraft to proceed, requiring that each sale be reported to the court. In early