Jango
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Could it be that when the aircraft is carrying external load, the landing speed is higher than when it's in clean configuration.
Hence the drag chute is applied for former configuration. ??
Airplanes are configured so that they can land solely on wheel and air brakes. Chute is nowhere in the equation. THe reason it is used is to reduce wear and tear on the brakes as they are pretty expensive (for everybody, from Emirates to PAF to Zimbabwe). Full load or empty, a aircraft will probably use chutes in peace time to achieve a bit shorter landing distance without using brakes aggressively, as a quick turn around time is not needed in peace time.
In war, it is a different story though. You need to move quick, so no need to start deploying chutes and reducing brakes.