diff --git a/admin/debootstrap/Makefile b/admin/debootstrap/Makefile
index 50d0cbda0..f2e18d5d8 100644
--- a/admin/debootstrap/Makefile
+++ b/admin/debootstrap/Makefile
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ define Package/debootstrap
   CATEGORY:=Administration
   TITLE:=Bootstrap a basic Debian system
   URL:=http://wiki.debian.org/Debootstrap
-  DEPENDS:= +coreutils +coreutils-chroot +coreutils-sha1sum
+  DEPENDS:= +coreutils +coreutils-chroot +coreutils-sha1sum +ar
 endef
 
 define Package/debootstrap/description