MiG-29 prematurely retracts landing gear on takeoff - GIF

[hemmjo]

I thought you could not retract the gear while it was loaded??

[IAMSatisfied]

I thought you could not retract the gear while it was loaded??

Most modern planes have what's called a squat switch, which prevents the gear from retracting while loaded... perhaps the Ruskies considered it unnecessary complexity?

Or, maybe their squat switch was located on the nose wheel, which was off the ground in this situation.