diff --git a/core/main.mk b/core/main.mk
index 0393beecdb..70c7dd2bd8 100644
--- a/core/main.mk
+++ b/core/main.mk
@@ -547,7 +547,12 @@ subdir_makefiles_total := $(words int $(subdir_makefiles) post finish)
 
 $(foreach mk,$(subdir_makefiles),$(info [$(call inc_and_print,subdir_makefiles_inc)/$(subdir_makefiles_total)] including $(mk) ...)$(eval include $(mk)))
 
+# For an unbundled image, we can skip blueprint_tools because unbundled image
+# aims to remove a large number framework projects from the manifest, the
+# sources or dependencies for these tools may be missing from the tree.
+ifeq (,$(TARGET_BUILD_UNBUNDLED_IMAGE))
 droid_targets : blueprint_tools
+endif
 
 endif # dont_bother