a1bill,
From the wording of the article:
The F-35 stealthiness is a bit better than the B-2 bomber, which, in turn, was twice as good as that on the even older F-117. B-2 stealth bomber has a very small cross section. The RCS of a B-26 bomber exceeds 35 dBm2 (3100m2 ) from certain angles. In contrast, the RCS of the B-2 stealth bomber is widely reported to be about -40dBm2 .
That is the same as the F-22 where the F-35 is reported to have a -30dBm2, the same as an insect, don't know which insect. That is why I stated the reported RCS is rather subjective in nature, e.g., you can believe what you want or not.
KenV,
The F-35 is (allegedly) the first stealth platform whose RCS features are not maintenance intensive and whose characteristics are compatible with a typical carrier environment.
Only time in service will give the true answer and that hasn't happened yet.