STOCKHOLM — Sweden said Thursday it would order two new submarines to boost its armed forces months after a futile hunt for a suspected Russian mini-sub in the Stockholm archipelago.

"The order ... will ensure Sweden's underwater capacity beyond 2030," Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist said in a statement.

"Underwater capacity is a central part of Sweden's defense in peace time, as well as during emergencies and war," the ministry added.

Although no Swedish official ever identified the nationality of the elusive mini-sub — hunted in a massive naval operation for a week in October following civilian sightings — experts widely believed it to be Russian.

The failure to locate the sub raised questions over the non-aligned country's military capabilities after years of cutbacks in the post-Cold War era.

The two new generation A 26 submarines to be produced by Swedish arms groups Saab have a maximum price tag of 8.2 billion kronor ($945 million, €886 million).

They are set to be delivered by 2022 at the latest.

Last week the government announced a 6.2 billion-kronor hike in defense spending largely focused on upgrading its capacity to detect and intercept submarines.

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