obj-y += $(patsubst %,%.gen.o, $(fw-external-y))
obj-$(CONFIG_FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL) += $(patsubst %,%.gen.o, $(fw-shipped-y))
+ifeq ($(KBUILD_SRC),)
+# Makefile.build only creates subdirectories for O= builds, but external
+# firmware might live outside the kernel source tree
+_dummy := $(foreach d,$(addprefix $(obj)/,$(dir $(fw-external-y))), $(shell [ -d $(d) ] || mkdir -p $(d)))
+endif
+
# Remove .S files and binaries created from ihex
# (during 'make clean' .config isn't included so they're all in $(fw-shipped-))
targets := $(fw-shipped-) $(patsubst $(obj)/%,%, \