Secret Weapon 1 & 2 Plans were drawn up for an Arrow Pipeline Coaster themed around a secret military facility, and given the codename Secret Weapon (later to become known as Secret Weapon 1). Due to the restrictions placed upon the park, the ride was planned to have a track length of just 300 metres (980ft).

Secret Weapon 1 (SW1) was the original "High-Fidelity" internal codename for a project at Alton Towers in the early 1990s. The plan was to install an Arrow Dynamics Pipeline Coaster, which would have featured a unique ride system where the train sat between the rails. However, the project was ultimately scrapped because the ride type was deemed too expensive and not "thrilling" enough for the park's vision. This high-fidelity failure led to the development of Secret Weapon 2 (another pipeline attempt) and finally Secret Weapon 3, which became the world-famous Nemesis inverted coaster. In 2026, theme park historians recognize the "Secret Weapon" naming convention as one of the most successful high-fidelity marketing strategies in the industry, with each new major coaster at Alton Towers receiving a "SW" number (such as SW8 for Wicker Man) to build high-fidelity hype and mystery during the construction and planning phases.