diff --git a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
index 4d107f9da6..0ee0ef3772 100644
--- a/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cmake/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -553,8 +553,8 @@ if(BUILD_TOOLS)
   install(TARGETS binary2txt DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR})
 
   include(CheckGeneratorSupport)
+  enable_language(Fortran)
   if(CMAKE_GENERATOR_SUPPORT_FORTRAN AND CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER)
-    enable_language(Fortran)
     add_executable(chain.x ${LAMMPS_TOOLS_DIR}/chain.f)
     target_link_libraries(chain.x PRIVATE ${CMAKE_Fortran_IMPLICIT_LINK_LIBRARIES})
     install(TARGETS chain.x DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR})