diff --git a/util/abuild/abuild b/util/abuild/abuild
index 022567da59..6e14765cca 100755
--- a/util/abuild/abuild
+++ b/util/abuild/abuild
@@ -796,8 +796,11 @@ if [ "$cpus" != "1" ]; then
 	echo | xargs -P ${cpus:-0} -n 1 echo 2>/dev/null >/dev/null && USE_XARGS=1
 fi
 
+git submodule update --checkout --init
+
 if [ "$USE_XARGS" = "0" ]; then
 test "$MAKEFLAGS" == "" && test "$cpus" != "" && export MAKEFLAGS="-j $cpus"
+export MAKEFLAGS="$MAKEFLAGS UPDATED_SUBMODULES=1" # no need to re-download
 build_targets()
 {
 	local targets=${*-$(get_mainboards)}